Caged
by BaddestWolf
Summary: Cenred is searching for something deadly. While trying to stop him, Arthur, Merlin and Gwaine are locked in Cenred's dungeon with no way out and no way to warn Camelot of the newest danger. Some whump. Merthur. Magic Reveal.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

><p>Robert pushed his horse as fast as it would go, galloping through the streets of Camelot, sending people scattering in all directions as he flew past them. He'd been riding for hours, but he was too close to slow down now. He came rushing into the stone courtyard of the palace and slid off his horse, falling to his knees. As he struggled to catch his breath, two guards approached him warily.<p>

"What are you doing?" The larger of the guards asked him, tilting his spear in Robert's direction.

"I need to speak to the king. Now," Robert looked up at the guards with a look of urgency that they couldn't deny, so they dragged him to his feet. After they had checked to make sure he was unarmed, they led him up the steps and into the palace.

They approached the throne room, and the guards at the door looked at the two escorting the disheveled man, their confusion apparent. The first two guards brushed off the stares and motioned for them to open the doors. When they did, Uther looked up from the piece of parchment he'd been reading, placing it in his lap as he waited for an explanation.

"We're sorry to disturb you, sire, but, this man requested an immediate audience," One of the guards said, before giving a slight bow. Both of them moved off a bit, but remained in range to protect the king if it turned out he was in danger.

"It looks like you've been riding all day," Uther said, raking his eyes across Robert's mud-streaked face.

Robert bowed his head before he began, "Sire, my name is Robert Miller. I come bearing terrible news from the outlying towns on your border with Cenred's kingdom. At least six towns have been attacked in just over a week."

Uther tensed in his chair. "Cenred's men?"

"Most definitely," Robert replied. "The towns themselves have been decimated, but his armies haven't spared the people either. The ones that aren't slaughtered trying to defend their homes are kidnapped, or left to starve."

Uther was quiet for a second before he turned to one of the knights. "Bring Arthur to me. Quickly." The knight nodded and disappeared.

"There's something else, sire," Robert began timidly. "Cenred may not be attacking just because the mood strikes him. I heard him shouting orders as he ransacked my town. It almost sounded….like he was looking for something."


	2. Flames

**1. Flames**

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><p>"Hurry up, Merlin, we don't have all day," Arthur snapped as he strode out of his bedroom. Merlin was about ten steps behind him, weighed down with a number of bags and most of Arthur's armor.<p>

"I'm coming. Any chance you'd want to carry a bag?" Merlin asked, a cheeky grin spreading across his face as Arthur turned around to glare at him. Even so, Arthur slowed his gait a bit to let Merlin catch up.

"Of course not. Carrying bags is one of the few areas in which you excel. Wouldn't want to take that away from you," Arthur said just as Merlin reached his side.

Merlin rolled his eyes, but followed Arthur the rest of the way down to the courtyard in silence. A number of knights were already assembled there, so Merlin went to work packing everything onto the horses while Arthur addressed his men.

"Unfortunately, and as much as I would like to, my father is not allowing me to bring all of you. We still don't know what Cenred's real intentions in the border region are. If I was to stray onto his lands with an army of Camelot, it would undoubtedly be considered an act of war. We will try to avoid full-out war with Cenred if at all possible. So I'll bring a small contingency with me to discover what Cenred is playing at, and to defend villagers where possible," Arthur watched his men's reactions turn from confusion to anger, the same way his had when his father had proposed this plan last night.

Arthur held up his hands to silence the knights and scanned the crowd. "Leon. Gwaine. Grab your horses. The rest of you, report to my father. He's beginning preparations, in case war breaks out despite our efforts."

Some of the knights grumbled as they mounted the steps back to the castle, but most gave a nod to Arthur as they passed him. Gwaine and Sir Leon jogged off in the direction of the stables.

Arthur walked over to his horse, running his hand across the side of its neck. He swung himself up into the saddle and gazed down at Merlin, who was still tying a few last things to his own horse. Merlin felt Arthur's eyes on his back and turned to look at him. "What is it, Arthur?"

"It's…um," Arthur started, then shook his head, causing golden strands of hair to fall into his eyes. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"You think your father's making a mistake," Merlin replied knowingly, searching Arthur's expression. "That maybe he shouldn't be sending you into battle with only three men?"

Arthur sighed, but a small smile formed at the edges of his lips. "It may not be a battle. We don't know what we're going to find. And besides, from the looks of it, I'll only have two men beside me."

"Prat," Merlin huffed under his breath as he pulled himself up onto his horse.

A distant clacking of hooves soon told them that Leon and Gwaine were on their way back. Once they reached the prince and his servant, Arthur nudged his horse forward wordlessly, barely turning to see if the others were following before he started riding at full gallop through the edge of the town and onto the surrounding plain.

The four of them rode for a few hours until they reached the edge of an expansive forest. Arthur stopped his horse quite suddenly, causing Merlin to nearly run into him. Leon on Gwaine stopped with slightly more grace than Merlin, a few yards from the forest's edge.

"We should stop and rest. We're going to need our energy to cut through this forest before nightfall." Arthur eyed the trees suspiciously and jumped down off of his horse. He pulled a skin of water and some bread out of one of the packs, before taking a seat on a large, moss-covered rock. The others followed suit and they sat for a few minutes, just chewing.

"The first of the border towns can't be more than an hour or two from the other edge of the forest," Leon commented quietly.

"It's true, we're far past halfway there," Arthur agreed as he kicked some dirt around with his shoe.

Up until then, Gwaine had been uncharacteristically silent. He pushed some hair out of his eyes and glanced over at Arthur. "What do you think Cenred's doing? I mean, he has to know Uther won't leave the border undefended now that he knows about the attacks."

Then it clicked in Arthur's head and he smiled up at Gwaine. Sure, it wasn't the perfect plan, but his father might know what he was doing after all. "That's just it. Cenred will expect Camelot to retaliate with the full force of our army. So, if we can find whatever it is he's looking for without starting a war, he'll never see it coming."

Gwaine narrowed his eyes at Arthur skeptically, "I guess…You're the brains of the operation after all. Just tell me what to slice in half."

"I'm sure there's plenty that needs slicing," Arthur said as he stood, wiping a few stray crumbs from his cloak. He turned to face the woods, glancing up and down across the line of trees. He nudged Merlin with the toe of his boot, because he was still sitting in the grass. "Come on, then. This should be fun."

The trees weren't as dense as they appeared, but they still had to move slowly because of the rocks and debris littering the floor of the forest. Every so often a twig would snap somewhere in the distance, and before Merlin could even pinpoint which direction the sound had come from, there was a soft ringing of steel against leather as Arthur drew his sword. Merlin's horse spotted a rabbit once, but that was the most dangerous thing they came across in the woods, and they made relatively good time.

Once they broke through the other side of the forest, their pace quickened as they rode across the rolling hills toward the border. Just as the sun was beginning to set, it cast a strange orange glow across the hill in front of them. They stopped at the top of the hill and Merlin let out a nearly inaudible gasp. Gwaine sighed. It took a few seconds for Arthur to wipe the shock off of his face. "My god," he breathed out as he fixed his eyes on the pillar of smoke rising from the town in front of them. It wasn't just the sun painting the hills orange. The blazing town was helping, too.


	3. Ambush

**2. Ambush**

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><p>"Come on," Arthur growled as he dug his heels into his horse's side. Arthur went speeding towards the town and the others had to fight to keep up. Even a few hundred yards from the outlying buildings, the heat from the flames was becoming oppressive. All four of them pulled their sleeves up over their noses and mouths to block out some of the smoke as they approached.<p>

The town had been ransacked. Clothes, food, random household objects were scattered across the ground. Doors hung open at odd angles and half of the buildings were already charred. Arthur slowed his horse and came to a stop in front of a burnt home, scanning the items that had been tossed into the dirt. He slid off his horse and tied it to a nearby fencepost, far enough away to be safe from the flames.

"Looks like we're too late for this particular town," Arthur said, shaking his head.

"I hope some of the people made it out okay. To another village or somewhere," Merlin said, scanning the debris. "There don't seem to be too many bodies."

He was right. There weren't many bodies, but there were some. There was a knot in Arthur's stomach that was getting tighter ever minute. He crouched along the path and picked up a wooden bowl that had been cast aside, either by its owner or an invader. Running his hands along the edge of the bowl, Arthur became suddenly furious, and he hurled it with all his strength into the side of a nearby building. "Damn it!"

"There's nothing we could've done," Gwaine said as he dismounted.

Arthur sighed. "If we had just gotten here a little sooner-"

"Sire. There's nothing we could've done. Not yet anyway," Sir Leon repeated. He, too, slid from his horse to survey the damage around them.

"Robert Miller was right," Gwaine mumbled as he peered through the burnt doorframe of a house. "Cenred had to be searching for something. Nobody tosses things about like this if they're just robbing the place."

"We need to figure out which way they went. Someone they attacked is bound to have an answer for us," Arthur said, wandering a little farther along the path.

Sir Leon knelt, placing one hand on the ground to examine the tracks in the dirt. He traced them with his eyes and pointed down the road. "Looks like they just followed this path right out of the village and on to the next."

There was a soft scraping noise that came from behind him and Leon turned to see what it was. His eyes locked with another man's eyes, this one hiding in the debris of a fallen building. Before he had a chance to process anything, Leon heard a small, familiar snap. The release on a crossbow. His eyes flicked from the weapon, then to Arthur. He lunged up and over from his kneeling position. "Arthur!"

Arthur turned just in time to see the arrow lodge itself deep in Leon's chest. His sword was out almost instantaneously and he scanned the buildings for his hidden enemy. Nothing. Gwaine and Merlin quickly fanned out next to him, Gwaine wielding his own weapon with fury. Merlin rushed to Leon, skidding to his knees in the dirt next to him.

As Arthur and Gwaine circled defensively, Merlin dragged Leon toward the cover of a building, though it was relatively slow going. Once they reached a wall, Merlin propped the knight against it and inspected his wound. The arrow had pierced straight through Leon's chainmail, and from the sound of his raspy breathing, right through a lung. Merlin caught Arthur's eyes just once and shook his head sadly. Grief washed over Arthur's face for just a second before it was blank again, a warrior's face.

Merlin brushed Leon's hair back from his forehead and tried to slow the bleeding, but every time he let out a breath, a fresh wave of red covered Merlin's hand. "You were wonderful, Leon. A hero. Arthur will never forget-"

Sir Leon tried to speak, but it was useless. He gasped a few breaths, but that was it. Merlin was just reaching up to shut Leon's eyes when there was a deafening shout from behind him and the sudden clash of steel against steel.

At least a dozen men had been extremely well hidden. Three knights and a warlock hadn't even sensed their presence. They descended on Arthur and Gwaine so quickly that Merlin could not even see his companions by the time he turned around. He whispered a spell under his breath, disarming the men closest to him. He dove for one of the freed swords, but its owner was on him before he could take his first swing.

Then there was a bag over his head, and thick, strong hands were roughly tying his wrists together. He could hear muffled yells and curses from both Arthur and Gwaine, so he could only assume they were being abducted as well. Merlin thrashed at the ropes for a few minutes but his captor eventually started prodding him in the back, telling him to walk, and he did, because at this point he was simply amazed that they were still alive.

Arthur walked along when he was told to, picking at the ropes around his wrists, working at them diligently to see if he might be able to slip them off. Eventually he got frustrated and left them alone, because they didn't seem to be loosening, and the more he messed with them, the more his wrists felt like they were on fire.

Gwaine didn't mind the ropes so much as the bag over his head. Every few steps, he would make a point of shaking his head roughly, trying to dislodge the bag. After they had been walking for a while, whoever was leading Gwaine must have gotten frustrated, because he whacked him in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword. Gwaine stopped the head shaking after that, but mostly because after that hard of a blow, it was making him dizzy.

They heard the sound of gates opening, of people passing by in corridors. They were led down a stairwell that became increasing cold as they went along. Then the sound of keys clanking against someone's hip, then the sound of a key in a rusty iron lock.

While their hands were still bound, one of the guards pulled each of the bags off their heads. They glanced at eachother and then their gaze fell on the man still holding the large set of clanking keys.

"So nice to see you, Arthur," Cenred hissed from behind a wicked grin.


	4. Chains

**3. Chains**

* * *

><p>One by one, they were pushed into the cell by surrounding guards and then shackled to the wall. Once the guards were sure all of their prisoners were secure, they backed out of the cell with smiles on their faces. Cenred was the one who closed the door with sickening finality, and his pleasure was evident as he turned the key in the lock. Before he turned to leave, he dangled the key out in front of him waving it in front of the bars. "See you later, boys."<p>

For a few minutes, they heard the pounding of feet against the stairs as Cenred and his soldiers left, but then it was silent. Only two guards were left, far down the hallway at the mouth of the dungeon, not close enough to be a threat to conversations in their cell.

Gwaine was the first to speak. "Are you alright? Merlin?"

Arthur had nodded his assent right away, but Merlin wasn't paying attention at first. At the sound of his name, he looked over at Gwaine, eyes wide. "Huh?"

"Are you _alright_?" Gwaine said slowly, tilting his head sideways, watching Merlin like he'd lost his mind.

"I'm sure he'll bounce back," Arthur told Gwaine with a smirk, but he was a little worried about Merlin, too. A man had died in his arms less than an hour ago, and now he was chained to a dungeon wall.

"Oh, yeah, right, don't worry about me," Merlin said. He tugged at his chains a little to see how far away from the wall they would allow him to go. Not far. Not more than four or five feet from where the chains were anchored. "You'd think putting us in the dungeon would suffice," he commented before leaning back against the wall.

"I don't understand why he didn't kill the rest of us on the spot," Gwaine mumbled. He sat down and crossed his arms on top of his knees. "Unless he intends to ransom us."

"It's possible. Though I doubt it. This doesn't feel like it's about money to me. It's something else," Arthur said. He ran one of his hands along the stone of the wall, listening to the chains clank against eachother.

All three were quiet for the next few minutes, taking in their new surroundings, inspecting their chains, searching for cracks in the walls, drawing pictures in the dust on the ground. Not too long after, Arthur started pacing, a few steps one way and a few steps back the other way. Clank, clank, clank. Every time he took a step.

"Stop!" Merlin shouted suddenly, then walked as close to Arthur as his chains would allow. They were about a foot and a half from eachother, each pulling at their chains. "You're driving me insane," Merlin hissed across the distance between them. Gwaine looked up at both of them, a little surprised.

Arthur set his jaw like he was preparing to rant. He glared back at Merlin for a few seconds, then dropped his gaze. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He slid down the wall and leaned his head against the cold stone. Merlin sat down a few feet from him.

"Well….You should be," Merlin said with just a hint of a smile.

"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur replied, kicking a little bit of dirt in Merlin's direction.

The three of them sat like that for hours. Gwaine continued drawing in the dirt. Arthur let his eyes wander, looking for any possible means of escape. Merlin watched Arthur and Gwaine, and every so often he caught a glimpse of the blood on his sleeves and he did his best to think of something, anything else. Eventually they drifted into fitful sleep. Any time one of them would jolt awake from a nightmare, the rattling of his chains would wake the others.

Once morning, or what they assumed to be the next morning arrived, they were woken again by the heavy pounding of feet on stairs, though not nearly as many this time. Two guards appeared outside their cell, kicking the iron bars to make sure everyone was awake.

"What now?" Arthur spat at them indignantly.

Gwaine blinked at them groggily and ran a hand through his long hair, pushing it back. He made a soft grunting noise as he shifted positions hoping he could stay asleep. Merlin eyed the guards suspiciously when he noticed they were only carrying two plates of food. If what they were carrying could even be considered food.

'Rise and shine," one of the guards laughed as he unlocked the door and crossed to the prisoners. He placed one plate in front of Gwaine, sliding it toward him with his foot. "Here you go, Scruffy." He took the second plate from the other guard and dropped it with a thud in front of Arthur, giving him a mocking bow. "Your _Royal _Highness."

The guard motioned to his partner with a jerk of his chin and he pulled out a set of separate, smaller keys. The ones that unlocked the chains. Arthur and Gwaine shot worried glances at eachother, and then both of their eyes fell on Merlin, who looked more apprehensive than ever.

The second guard crossed to Merlin. He scooted back against the wall as far as he could, but there was really nowhere for him to go. "What…What're you doing?" He asked shakily, pulling his arms back from the guard. The guard grabbed at the chains on his wrists, pulling Merlin forward so he could unlock the shackles. Deftly, a rope was tied around his wrists as soon as his hands were freed, and the guard pushed him toward the edge of the cell. He glanced back at Arthur, a plea for help blazing in his blue eyes.

"Where are you taking him?" Arthur demanded as he stood up. He got no answer from the guards. Gwaine stood as well, feeling positively useless. He watched as his friend was dragged from the cell and he could do nothing but let an angry growl rumble in his throat. Gwaine punched the wall, scraping his knuckles and drawing a trickle of blood that traced across his hand.

The guards stopped to lock the cell behind them before they pushed Merlin farther down the corridor. As soon as Merlin had disappeared from his sight, Arthur pulled at his chains, almost like he was trying to rip them right out of the wall. He struggled against his shackles and threw the full force of his weight into his attempts to free himself. He could feel the iron biting into his skin, but he ignored it, along with the blood running across his wrists. "Merlin!" He screamed into the darkness, thrashing against the chains. "MERLIN!"


	5. Blood

**4. Blood**

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><p>Gwaine spent the next two hours picking at the scrapes on his knuckles and shooting worried glances in Arthur's direction. Once or twice he considered eating a bit of the bread on the plate in front of him, but after staring at it for a while, it was beginning to make him feel a little queasy. He pushed it was far away from him as he could.<p>

Arthur had started pacing again, and Gwaine let him do so for a while, but by that point he'd gotten tired of it anyway. He sat back down, pulling at his chains quietly. He wasn't entirely sure why he had reacted so violently to Merlin's disappearance. Of course he was worried about his servant, but he had struggled at his chains for nearly half an hour, knowing full well that it wasn't going to accomplish anything.

"What do they want with him?" Arthur wondered out loud, "Out of the three of us, he's least likely to know anything important. Or be at all useful."

"Don't underestimate him," Gwaine replied softly, even though he'd been wondering the same thing. "I'm sure he's fine."

As if on cue, there was a commotion down the corridor and they could hear the guards returning. Whether or not they had Merlin with the, Gwaine and Arthur could only guess. They both stood, eagerly watching the hallway for any sign that Merlin was alright. The guards rounded the corner, half-dragging Merlin in their wake. One of them held him up while the other opened the door of the cell and threw him into the corner, his head smacking painfully on the floor.

Gwaine barely had time to register Merlin's presence before one of the guards had extracted his tiny set of keys and began to unlock the knight from his chains. He put up a bit of a fight, landing a solid blow on the guard's face before he was restrained and pushed from the cell.

"Gwaine," Arthur addressed him just loud enough for him to hear. They stared at each other for a moment, then Gwaine nodded to Arthur just as he was yanked out of view. If Cenred was looking for information, a story which Merlin's current state seemed to confirm, he wasn't going to get it out of Gwaine.

Arthur pulled against his chains, walking as close to Merlin as possible. "Merlin. Merlin. Wake up, Merlin."

Merlin was still for a few seconds, then slowly brought his hand to his forehead, to inspect a purple bruise blossoming above his left eye. He moaned and rolled over onto his back to stare at the ceiling. "Arthur?"

"What did they do to you?" Arthur asked him, barely able to keep the worry from his voice.

"Just knocked me around a bit," Merlin mumbled as he attempted to sit up. He winced against the pain in his head and laid back down, suddenly realizing there was a dull throbbing against his ribs as well. He pulled up his shirt just far enough to see the outline of red and purple that would probably get even darker. He sighed. "That's going to leave a mark."

Merlin took a deep breath and managed to sit up, leaning heavily on the wall. "Cenred's looking for something magical, Arthur. I don't know what. But I could tell, from the kinds of questions he was asking me." Glancing from the wall where he had been chained earlier back to Arthur, Merlin had an idea. "Hey, the pin that was on your cloak, do you still have it? Or did you lose it when they brought us here?"

Arthur looked confused for a second, then reached into the collar of his shirt and unfastened his pin. He tossed it to Merlin without question. Merlin picked it up out of the dirt and flipped it over in his hand a few times before he attempted to stand up.

"What're you doing?" Arthur asked him as he watched Merlin struggle to stand up, grasping at the wall to hold him.

"You'll see," Merlin smiled. He gave it a few seconds and found he was slightly steadier than he'd expected. He went over to Arthur and wedged the back of the pin into the lock on the prince's shackles, like he was attempting to pick the lock. Since Merlin had absolutely not idea how to pick a lock he'd have to make do. He said the incantation in his head, hoping it would work without him saying it out loud. When there was a satisfactory snap and the iron broke free from Arthur's wrist, Merlin quickly did the same to the other side.

Feeling a little lightheaded, Merlin leaned one hand on the wall and held the pin out to Arthur. "Here. Useful thing, that."

"No kidding," Arthur said quietly as he took the pin from Merlin's hand. Just as he finished pinning it back to his collar, Merlin faltered against the wall, sliding to the floor with his head in his hands.

"Are you okay? Merlin? Hey, Merlin?" Arthur dropped to his knees and held Merlin's head up by his chin, snapping his fingers in front of his face.

"Oh, yeah, huh? No, I'm fine. Just….little lightheaded….fine, really," Merlin mumbled, eyelids fluttering.

"Just sit still for a few minutes. Maybe it will pass," Arthur said lamely as he reached up to wipe a streak of blood from Merlin's neck. It wasn't just a streak of blood; it was a cut that was still bleeding. Heavily. Arthur ripped a square of fabric from his sleeve and folded it a few times before pressing it against Merlin's cut.

While Arthur was holding the fabric in place, Merlin noticed the rings of raw skin on the prince's wrists. "Looks like you lost a fight with those chains."

"Whole lot of good it did." Arthur held up his free hand. "That's what I get for trying to help you. What happened to your neck?"

Merlin shrugged. "Honestly I can't remember. Tip of a sword, maybe?"

"Right," Arthur removed the fabric to inspect the wound for a second. He stared at it skeptically. "Yes, well, it's deeper than it looks. Needs a lot of pressure to get it to clot."

Arthur slid forward so he was at a better angle to keep pressure on the wound. He would've had Merlin hold it himself, but in the state he was, it probably wouldn't have been enough pressure. He placed the square of cloth back on the cut and pressed down on it with the center of his palm, locking his fingers around the back of Merlin's neck.

Merlin winced, biting back a hiss of pain. He narrowed his eyes at Arthur. "Ow. Are you sure you're not making it worse?"

"I know what I'm doing, Merlin." Arthur gave him a withering look and moved a little closer to the wall because his arm was starting to get a little tired.

They stayed like that for a minute or so, and every once in a while Merlin made a noise like he thought Arthur was trying to kill him. Arthur shifted his hand and Merlin winced again. Arthur didn't say anything, but he ran his thumb along Merlin's jaw, hoping it would distract him from the pain.

Merlin shivered and looked up, his eyes meeting Arthur's. He felt Arthur's hand tense against his neck, and for a split second he wondered how many blows to the head he'd actually suffered since they left Camelot. He couldn't finish the thought before Arthur's lips found his, holding him against the wall.

And just like that, Arthur had moved back, even letting go of the fabric. Merlin lifted his hand up to hold it himself as Arthur got up and walked to the opposite corner of the cell. "Arthur…" Merlin started quietly, but he let the attempt trail off.

Arthur slid down the wall and sat in the corner, arms wrapped around his legs. "I was worried about you. I'm glad you're okay."

"I know, sire. I know. I hope Gwaine…" Merlin trailed off again

"He'll be fine. Knight of Camelot."


	6. Book

**5. Book**

* * *

><p>Eventually Arthur and Merlin heard the now-familiar sound of the guards coming back down the hallway. They had Gwaine in tow, looking worse for wear than even Merlin did. He was pale, shaking as the guard opened the door and tossed him in. He skidded across the floor almost all the way to the back wall without making any attempt to stop himself. He groaned, glancing up at Arthur before placing his forehead on the ground so he didn't feel like the room was spinning.<p>

Arthur lunged for the guard who was closest to him, landing a few blows across his face and stomach before they managed to restrain him. Just like Merlin and Gwaine, they bound his hands and led him from the cell. Merlin stood and crossed to the bars of the cell, leaning his head against them as he watched Arthur leave. "Arthur!" he yelled, just before the prince and the guards rounded the corner at the end of the corridor.

Arthur turned back to look at him for a second, then set his jaw and vanished around the corner. Once Arthur was gone, he suddenly remembered Gwaine. He went over and sat in the dirt next to him, giving him a small nudge.

"Ouch!" Gwaine glared for a second and then sighed. "Watch the bruises, Merlin."

"Sorry," Merlin mumbled, fighting the urge to scratch the blood that was finally clotting on his neck. He reached under Gwaine's arms and helped him sit up, propping him against the wall. "There. Are you bleeding anywhere? Broken bones or anything?" Merlin started inspecting Gwaine, checking out patches of skin and poking him every so often.

Gwaine waved him off and chuckled despite the circumstance, "Merlin, I'm fine. Nothing I won't recover from. Just sit down and rest. You look worse than me."

Merlin shrugged and sat down along the wall next to Gwaine. "Yeah, I guess I do."

They were both silent for a while. Gwaine was piecing bits of information together in his head, trying to see if anything made sense. Merlin tried to think of something happy, but his thoughts kept coming back to Arthur.

"What's the point?" Merlin asked suddenly, breaking Gwaine's train of thought. "Why question us separately, when Cenred _has_ to know that we don't know anything?"

Gwaine thought about it for a second, but no answers came to him. "I don't know. But this game of musical prisoners is starting to get a little bit old. What did Cenred ask you?"

"It was strange," Merlin faltered, trying hard to remember the questions exactly. "Random lore about the border regions. Some things about plants. A question or two about Arthur." He shook his head, unsure if he was remembering correctly. "It seemed so haphazard. And none of them were things I could answer, even if I'd wanted to."

"Hmm," Gwaine muttered under his breath as he brought a hand up to fiddle with the silver pendant around his neck. "I can't be sure, but I got the feeling Cenred wasn't the one calling the shots. Whatever it is he's looking for, I don't think he's the one that wants it."

Merlin turned to Gwaine, his jaw dropping. "Morgause. Whatever he's looking for- it's magic. And the only person I know that uses Cenred like an errand boy-"

"Is Morgause," Gwaine finished. He snapped his fingers and pointed at Merlin. "Genius. You're nothing short of genius."

"Don't let Arthur hear you talking like that," Merlin said, laying his head back against the wall.

Gwaine let out his first real laugh since they'd been captured, and he reached over to tousle Merlin's hair. He caught a glimpse of Merlin's neck and his face darkened just a little. "Bit of a slice you've got there. Looks deep."

Involutarily, Merlin traced his fingers across the cut, smiling when he pulled his hand away and found that there were only one or two drops of blood on his fingertips. "It was bleeding badly earlier. It's better now. Arthur fixed it."

Gwaine narrowed his eyes. He couldn't place what it was, but there was something strange in Merlin's explanation. Something in his voice faltered where it shouldn't have. He blamed it on the stress of the past day and didn't bother pressing Merlin about it. "So. Something magic, yeah?"

Merlin nodded. "Mmm. But she could want anything. We've hardly narrowed it down."

"Maybe Arthur will," Gwaine said softly as he reached over and lightly pushed Merlin's shoulder. "Get some rest. Might as well sleep while we can."

* * *

><p>Cenred was getting frustrated with Arthur's insolence. Then again, he couldn't really blame him. He'd been messing with their heads since he captured them. He sighed and glanced at the few soldiers hanging about watching the spectacle. "Leave," he ordered his men and then turned his full attention back to Arthur.<p>

"Why?" Arthur spat the blood that had been pooling in his mouth onto the floor. "Are you too much of a coward to kill me while there are witnesses?"

Arthur was bound to a pole in the center of an otherwise vacant room, Cenred circled around him, carrying a sword. Cenred laughed and shook his head, strands of dark hair falling across his face. "I have no intention of killing you, Pendragon. Well, not at the moment."

Cenred stepped forward, letting the tip of his blade dance millimeters from Arthur's chest. Arthur struggled against the pole and the ropes that held him, but they wouldn't budge. "I thought your father cared little for the border towns. But here you are in all your glory, sent to defend them. Although, I couldn't help but notice….did you lose a few knights along the way? Or did you really think you could spy on me and I wouldn't find out?"

Arthur flinched at the accusation, but just barely. "Ah. So that's it. You're not particularly stealthy, in case you were wondering. Now," Cenred took another step forward and placed a heavy hand on Arthur's throat. "You'll tell me what you expected to find. What is it that I'm doing that warrants such suspicion?"

Arthur bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep himself from saying something he'd regret. Instead, he calmly responded, "I'm not going to tell you anything. You might as well just throw me back in the cell."

"Oh you'd like that, wouldn't you?" A glimmer of amusement crossed Cenred's face right before he pulled his arm back and jammed his elbow into Arthur's stomach. Arthur doubled over and coughed a few times, small flecks of blood littering the ground. "But I think I'd rather keep you around for a bit. After all-"

Cenred was cut off by a timid knock at the door. He spun towards it, furious. "WHAT?"

The door opened just enough for a slim soldier to wedge his way in and bow. "Master, we've discovered where it is hidden. If you allow me to dispatch the knights now, they can have the book to you by nightfall."

Cenred growled under his breath and clenched his fist, drawing it back. It connected with the side of Arthur's skull with a revolting smack. His head fell limply against his chest.

"Do it," Cenred instructed the man, then waved a hand nonchalantly in Arthur's direction as he strode from the room. "Then take him back to his cell."


	7. Spell

**6. Spell**

* * *

><p>Cenred paced back and forth across the room, stopping every so often to stare out the window. The sun was just beginning to set and he was becoming impatient. His soldiers should be arriving at any minute, but there was still no word of their return. He ran his hand across the cold stone sill of the window, muttering under his breath. That was when he saw it.<p>

A single green banner popped over the top of the horizon, and a smile crept across Cenred's lips. "And there you have it," he whispered. He stayed leaning against the window for a few more seconds, just long enough for a few more banners and a number of horses to materialize. As soon as he was sure, he turned from the window land placed both hands on a heavy wooden table in the center of the room. "Guards!"

Two knights quickly entered the room, each giving Cenred a slight bow. "Summon Morgause," le he instructed them quickly, "Tell her it has been found."

The two knights left the room without a word, shutting the door with a thud behind them. There was no need to wait to summon her. He knew his men had the book. After all, they would not be stupid enough to return without it. They all valued their lives too highly.

Cenerd sat at the table, crossing his legs and propping them up in front of him. He pulled his hands through his tangle of dark hair, then let them rest casually at the back of his head. And now, all he had to do was wait.

He did not have to wait long. No more than fifteen minutes later, there was a thudding knock at the door and he told them to enter. His captain came in, flanked by two lesser guards. There was a large leather pack at his side. The captain gave a curt bow and shrugged the pack off his shoulder. He placed it on the table in front of Cenred and pushed it forward a little. "As requested, sire."

Cenred reached for the pack, letting his fingers trace over the soft leather for a second before flipping it open. He upended it rather carelessly, and a raggedy, dusty volume thumped to the table. The cover of the book was leather, with a few inscriptions from the Old Religion. He inspected a few pages, noting they were all made of parchment and held together by string, barely bound to the cover at all. Just as he leaned down to squint at a few of the pages, he heard a familiar voice.

"Ah, Cenred. Reading a book. I would've thought some pursuits were above you," Morgause's words left a chill in the air as she crossed to the table. "Leave us," she told the guards without bothering to look at them. They glanced at Cenred.

"Yes, it's fine, go," he agreed with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Let me see it," Morgause said as the last guard left and she took a seat across from Cenred. He closed the cover of the book slowly and slid it across the table. "I was not sure I would ever see this collection. I do not expect you to appreciate it for its historical and magical intricacies, but it is so much more than our way to bring Uther to his knees." She opened the cover with reverence, sliding her hand softly across the paces. "Though, it will help us do that, too."

Cenred watched her quietly as she flipped through the book a few times, getting a feel for what it contained. Once she was satisfied with that, she turned to one of the older pages, near the back of the binding and read through it a few times. She looked up at Cenred with a smirk. "It's here."

"The spell?" he asked her, still a little wary. "So you will be able to perform it, then?"

"Yes. But I will need a few things first. This is magic of the most powerful kind. Some of the ingredients are….rare."

"How rare? Will you be able to find them?"

Morgause traced her finger across the list of ingredients carefully and only hesitated once, at the last item they would need. "While they are not common, most of these should be fairly simple to acquire. But it is the main ingredient that gives the spell its real power. I must drain the blood of one who wields magic."

Cenred eyed her skeptically. "And where're we going to find someone like that so suddenly? Hmm?"

Morgause closed the book and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm sure you know of someone…"

He stared at her blankly, and when he didn't respond she sighed and shook her head. "No? Well, no matter. I have an easy way to solve that problem. Do you have a map of the castle and the surrounding grounds, Cenred?"

Cenred shot her a quizzical look, but he nodded. He uncrossed his legs and stood, pushing his chair back from the table. "I'll have one sent to you. Now if you don't mind…" He motioned to the door.

"I'll be fine here, thank you. I will let you know when I've found a suitable individual to be our noble sacrifice."

Cenred left, closing the door behind him. Mogause spent a while rereading the spell, making sure there wasn't anything that she had missed. There was a sudden knock on the door and a guard cam in bearing a stack of maps. He placed them on the table in front of Morgause and she waved him off quickly, not even waiting for him to leave before she started rifling through the maps.

She picked a few that looked like they would suit her best, and spread them out near the edge or the table. She placed the extras neatly in a corner so they wouldn't get in her way. She laughed under her breath, "Come out, come out, wherever you are. You can't hide your magic from _me_."


	8. Hinges

**7. Hinges**

* * *

><p>The guards dropped Arthur back in the cell unceremoniously, right by the edge of the bars. They left quickly, without even bothering to acknowledge Gwaine or Merlin. Both of them jumped up from where they had been sitting against the back wall and rushed to the prince's side.<p>

"Arthur?" Gwaine loomed over him, kneeling to get a better look. "Well, he's alive. But I'd be surprised if he wakes up any time soon. Looks like he got cracked over the head pretty good."

Merlin leaned in and gave Arthur a bit of a nudge, but there was no response. He sat down next to the prince and looked up at Gwaine. "Well, now that we're all here, I mean, once Arthur wakes up anyway, we might want to start working on getting out of here."

"Does that mean you've got a plan, then?" Gwaine asked with a shake of his head and threaded his arms through the bars. "Because this place is pretty damn solid."

"No. Even _with _a plan we've probably only got a one in a million chance of making out alive…"

"My kind of odds," Gwaine replied with a smirk, tilting his head as he peered at Merlin. "But you knew that already."

Arthur coughed very suddenly and rolled onto his side. He choked out a word, but Merlin couldn't tell if he'd said 'Gwen' or 'Gwaine'. The amount of blood he coughed up alarmed Merlin enough for him to slide his arms under Arthur's back and prop him up so he wouldn't choke. "Arthur? Hey, Arthur?"

He only coughed a few more times, but when he stopped, his voice was raspy. "Huh? Merlin? Get off of me, would you? I'm fine."

Merlin glared at Arthur for a second and then pulled his hands away, making an exasperated show of the fact that he thought Arthur would fall over without him. He didn't. Arthur grunted and shifted his weight and leaned back on the bars.

"Glad to see you're alive and kicking," Gwaine said.

"Alive, maybe. But we've got bigger problems than my bruises. Whatever Cenred's looking for- a book by the sound of it- his army is on its way back with it. If they're not already here," Arthur placed his head in his hands while he let the others ponder that idea.

"Damn it," Gwaine muttered under his breath and punched the bars. "Looks like Morgause is getting a shiny new spell book. That can't be good for Camelot."

Arthur stared up at Gwaine blankly. Merlin did his best to explain, "While you were gone, Gwaine and I realized that Cenred was searching for a magical item, which he would have no use for on its own. But, if he's going to all this trouble to get a specific book for her…"

"They've got to be making a move on Camelot," Arthur finished and let out an exasperated sigh. With much effort, he dragged himself to his feet and traced his hand across one of the bars, his silver ring making a metallic scratching sound against the iron. "We've got to get out of here."

"We've got to warn Camelot," Merlin said as Gwaine reached down a hand to pull him up. "Thanks."

"Yeah? And what would we tell them, Merlin? Cenred and Morgause have a book? Sure, they're up to something, but it's no use warning my father or the Knights if all we can tell them is _Don't let anyone in if they're carrying a book_," Arthur snapped at Merlin and then doubled over, coughing roughly and spewing a few more drops of blood onto the floor. Merlin caught the prince as he teetered forward, holding him by the shoulders.

"Okay…so what _should_ we be doing?" Merlin asked, trying his best not to snap back.

Gwaine leaned against the bars and crossed his arms over his chest. "For now," he said loudly to get their attention, then whispered, "we might just want to see if it's even possible to bust out of here. It's not going to be easy, so we should probably start planning now."

Arthur nodded silently and Merlin shrugged. Gwaine started pulling on some of the bars at random, seeing if any were loose, but for being in such a crappy place, they were in rather pristine condition. Merlin wandered along the back wall, inspecting some of the spaces between the stones, and mentally running through any spells that might be of use, should he get a chance to use them. Arthur stood where he was, scanning the room, slowly becoming aware of the painful, dull throbbing at the back of his skull.

Gwaine practically had to shout to get Arthur's attention, "HEY, Arthur!" Arthur wheeled around, eyes wide. "Mmm?"

"Come here and look at this." Gwaine was crouching near the hinge side of the door when he waved Arthur over. He pointed to one of the hinges with a smile. "These are pretty rusted out. They're pretty strong as it is, but if we can manage to get enough of this rust off somehow, there's a chance we could get them to break."

Merlin came over and stared down at the hinges, relatively sure they wouldn't be too hard to handle, if he had the right circumstances. Arthur narrowed his eyes at Gwaine, "How good of a chance?"

"Well I wouldn't bet your life on it," Gwaine replied with a cheeky grin, "but I might bet mine."

"Even if we can get out of the cell, there's no way to get out of the dungeon without those guards snatching us right back up," Merlin said, peering down the corridor towards the men on guard.

"One step at a time, Merlin," Arthur said as he laid a hand on Merlin's shoulder. Merlin looked down at it and Arthur pulled it back. "Step one. Scrape rust. Sounds like _your_ job to me." He strode over to the back wall and sat down, closing his eyes.

"You heard him," Gwaine said and sat down next to Arthur, closing his eyes just like Arthur had.

Merlin stood there for a second, just blinking. "Um…right." He turned to the nearest hinge and started picking at little flakes of rust absentmindedly.

"Just kidding," Gwaine's voice came from behind him, and he turned to see the knight looking at him with one eye open. He popped up from his seated position and came back over to Merlin, throwing his arm around him. "I'll help. Nothing better to do."


	9. Spark

**8. Spark**

* * *

><p>"Guard!" Morgause screamed, still standing at the table, maps strewn out around her. The locating spell had taken more out of her than she expected, and she struggled to catch her breath as she waited for the guard to appear.<p>

"My lady?" A guard poked his head in the door, a look of concern crossing his face when he saw the state she was in. He pushed the door open a little farther. "What is it?"

"Bring me Cenred. Now," she huffed out, before collapsing into a chair as the guard ran off down the hallway in search of Cenred. Morgause propped herself up, pulling the successful map toward her with just a hint of a smirk on her face. She sighed and leaned her head back against the chair, her breath finally beginning to slow.

She sat like that for a few minutes before Cenred came skidding into the room. She raised an eyebrow warily. "What? The guard told me it was an emergency."

"Not an emergency, so much as a wonderful one-in-a-million chance," Morgause said, shifting slightly in her chair and holding the map out to Cenred across the table. He narrowed his eyes at her, then squinted at the map, shrugging.

"You have no idea what I've just handed you, do you?" Morgause let out an exasperated growl.

"Sure," Cenred announced defiantly, "It's a map of the castle. What's this spark here?" He asked, pointing to a tiny speck that was glowing a coppery gold color.

"That, my dear Cenred," she said, snatching the map back from him, "Is someone with magic. And powerful magic by the looks of that spark." She placed a finger right next to the golden glow and turned the map aback around so Cenred could see. "In the dungeon."

"The only people in that part of the dungeon are…." Cenred bit back a gasp of surprise and turned to Morgause, wide-eyed.

"It changes nothing. In fact, it makes our lives a bit easier. We need to know if it's the servant or the raggedy knight-"

"It could be Arthur."

Morgause shot Cenred a harsh glare. "It's not Arthur. I'd bet the whole of the kingdom that it's not Arthur."

"Well, it's not your kingdom-"

"Shut up," Morgause slammed the map onto the table and stood up, crossing to Cenred. She traced a hand softly across his chin and let it linger there for a second. "I like you so much better when you don't speak. Now. If we want the warlock, all we have to do is threaten his prince."

* * *

><p>Arthur pressed his palms against the sides of his skull, hoping it might force the throbbing to subside even a little. It worked for about five seconds, but then he was right back to where he had started. The pain in his head was bad, but it was bearable now that he had stopped hacking up blood every time he tried to talk.<p>

As he sat there working through the pain, Arthur couldn't seem to stop thinking. All he really wanted was for his thoughts to quiet down and let him rest, but they kept bouncing from fear for Camelot to escape strategies to Merlin. There was a part of him that still refused to believe he'd kissed Merlin, that he was just going insane from being locked in this cell. But he knew it had happened, and he knew _he'd_ done it. It had been _his_ emotional snap decision, not Merlin's. What worried Arthur even more was that he couldn't seem to get a handle on _why_ he'd done it exactly, and he always knew the reasons for his actions. Quickly forcing his thoughts in a different direction, he began to wonder what kind of spell was so terrible that Cenred and Morgause would go through all this trouble just to get it.

Across the cell, Gwaine was leaning lazily against one of the bars, scratching away at the middle hinge with the silver pendant he'd taken from around his neck to assist him in the job. Every so often a few little flakes of rust would float down toward the ground and lodge themselves in Merlin's hair. Merlin was crouched near Gwaine's feet, scraping with the same pin he'd used to free Arthur from his chains earlier.

Their cell had been eerily quiet ever since they'd started implementing their plan. The only noises were the soft scratches of metal against metal and every once in a while there was a low groan from Arthur's direction.

Merlin felt useless scratching at the rust; he could've blown the door off of its hinges hours ago. He had already considered using magic to loosen them a bit as it was, but Gwaine was hovering right over top of him, and it wasn't a particularly inconspicuous spell. Every so often, usually after a groan from the far corner of the cell, Merlin would turn around to glance at Arthur, just to make sure he was okay.

Given the hectic situation they'd been thrown into, Merlin hadn't had too many chances to stop and think about what had happened between him and Arthur, but now that he had a bit of time in his own head, he was still at a loss to explain it. He replayed the situation in his mind a few times, involuntarily running his hand across the cut on his neck. It was still extremely sore, but he caught himself smiling about it anyway.

A sudden clatter at the end of the hallway caused all three of them to jump. Merlin and Gwaine peered through the bars curiously, and Arthur raised his head to watch them. They could barely make it out, but there were people talking to the guards at the end of the hall. The new voices were authoritative, brisk. Before they had too much time to process, they heard a clank of keys and saw one of the guards escorting Cenred and Morgause toward the cell.

Merlin and Gwaine both backed up, putting themselves between Arthur and the door while they pocketed whatever they had been using to scrape at the rust.

"What is it?" Arthur asked hoarsely.

Gwaine lifted a finger to his lips, but Merlin whispered, "Cenred and Morgause."

Arthur did his best to scramble to his feet. He wouldn't allow Cenred to see him beaten. At least not yet. Merlin held out his hand and helped him up the rest of the way, and Gwaine moved in front of both of them.

"Arthur Pendragon. And his little friends," Morgause hissed as she rounded the corner and pressed her face against the bars. "Open it," She instructed the guard.

The guard turned the key in the lock, and all three of the prisoners winced as he pushed it open, hoping they hadn't made enough progress yet to give themselves away. A few large flakes of rust dropped to the floor, but Cenred and Morgause didn't seem to notice.

"Against the wall, all of you. Now." Cenred unsheathed both his swords and motioned toward the back wall. There was a soft whooshing sound as they cut through the air.

They did as though they were told, though Arthur's scowl had become hard to ignore and Gwaine looked as if he was plotting something. Morgause paced back and forth across the cell, stopping every so often to stare into a different person's eyes. "You see, one of you has something that I need," she crooned at them like she was bartering with a child, "And I would really like to get it without spilling any more blood."


	10. Warlock

**9. Warlock**

* * *

><p>"You won't get anything from us," Gwaine said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. Cenred was next to him in a second, with his blades crossed at his throat. Gwaine just shrugged at him and waited for Morgause to continue.<p>

She paused, a little annoyed, but quickly regained her focus. "I have it on good authority that one of _you_," she held up her hands and pointed at Merlin and Gwaine, who were flanking Arthur along the wall, "has magic."

Merlin did his best to keep a straight face, but Gwaine just donned an amused expression. Arthur glanced between the two of them, completely sure Morgause was out of her mind.

With a jerk of her head, Morgause instructed Cenred to remove his weapons from Gwaine, which he did, holding them at his sides as she continued. "Now, I need someone with magic for a little experiment I'm performing, and you're the closest thing we've got, so I guess you'll have to do." She jerked her head back toward the wall, and there was no time to react before Cenred's blades were crossed again, this time millimeters from Arthur's neck. "You _will_ tell me who it is, and you _will_ comply with my requests. Or the Crown Prince of Camelot will no longer have a head on which to place that crown."

"This is preposterous," Arthur said through gritted teeth. The pain in his head was still constantly pounding away, but he felt the need to handle this situation himself. "You of all people know how my father and I feel about magic. These are two of my closest men. A knight. And my personal servant. Don't you think I'd know if they had magic? Besides…look at them."

"Ah, thanks for the compliment, Arthur," Gwaine said as he took a step forward. He wasn't sure if anyone in that cell had magic, but he knew he and Arthur didn't. He wasn't as sure about Merlin. It was still within the realm of possibility. He sauntered up to Morgause and flicked a lock of her hair across her shoulder. "It's me."

Morgause watched him warily as he approached her, but didn't move to stop him from touching her. "Really?" she said with a soft tilt of her head, "Then how about you show us what you can do, hmm?" She reached out and grabbed his wrist, digging her nails tightly into his skin. "Impress me. Or your prince dies."

Merlin let out a small breath that he had been holding, and then closed his eyes, trying to think of some possible escape. He could only think of one, but he figured he'd wait until he saw what Gwaine had up his sleeve first.

Gwaine shook his arm from Morgause's grasp and took a few steps back from her, giving an exaggerated bow. Cenred scoffed and repositioned his swords, hoping the sound would quell Gwaine's humor. Gwaine shot Arthur a glance and then turned back to Morgause. "Wouldn't happen to have a deck of cards would you?"

"Gwaine…." Arthur's voice was low, frustrated.

Gwaine held up a hand to quiet Arthur. "It's just, I work so much better with cards. After all, I'm supposed to be impressive, right?"

"That's enough," Morgause snapped as she stepped forward and grabbed the front of Gwaine's shirt. "Are you, or are you not the warlock?" He shrugged again and she back him up against the wall, nails digging into his chest through the fabric.

"Oh, is this how we're going to play?" he said, forcing a grin. Morgause huffed and slapped him across the cheek before retreating a few steps. Then her gaze fell on Merlin.

"You've been awfully quiet, servant boy. Hiding something, are we?"

Both Gwaine and Arthur jumped to Merlin's defense before he had a chance to. "Of course not," Arthur mumbled exaggeratedly, while Gwaine jumped bodily in front of Morgause again.

"I'm losing my patience with you," she said as she pushed Gwaine out of the way and wedged herself in between Arthur and Merlin. One of her hands reached up to trace the edge of the blade at Arthur's neck. "If you're hiding something, and you don't tell me, all I have to do is snap my fingers and Arthur dies where he stands. You don't want that, do you?" She held her other hand in front of Merlin's face ready to snap.

"No," Merlin's voice came out soft and frightened at first, but it gained strength as he continued talking, "Put the swords down, I'll tell you what you want to know. I-"

"Don't listen to him. Not right in the head, that one," came Gwaine's voice.

At this point Arthur had almost forgotten his imminent death and was kind of intrigued by Gwaine and Merlin's reactions. Morgause and Cenred shot each other quick, annoyed glances. She could still do this without Arthur. She sighed and waved a hand at Cenred, "Kill him."

Just as Cenred moved into action, Merlin lunged at him, surprising him enough to cause him to stumble, but he didn't lose his grip on either of the swords like Merlin had hoped. "WAIT!" Merlin yelled and held up his hands, stepping into the spot where Cenred had been. Flames burst from both his hands, scorching the stones where they hit the walls. Morgause held up a hand, stopping Cenred in his tracks.

Gwaine shook his head at Merlin, and Arthur's eyes widened just a little as he took in the scene before him. "Wait," Merlin said again, quieter, to Morgause. She nodded back at him almost imperceptibly.

Merlin gave Gwaine a fast, sad smile and then turned to Arthur. Arthur stood there, unable to move. He couldn't even look at Merlin; he stared past him and focused on random spots on the hallway walls. He set his jaw angrily and barely felt the one or two hot tears that streaked across his cheeks. He felt betrayed.

Merlin was hyperaware of all of the other people in the room, but he couldn't leave it like this. He leaned forward, putting his face right next to Arthur's ear. Arthur still didn't move. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. This isn't how you were supposed to find out," Merlin whispered. He couldn't think of anything else to say. He dropped his lips to Arthur's neck and brushed a light kiss there before pulling back.

Cenred sheathed his swords and grabbed Merlin roughly by the arm, jerking him out of the cell. Morgause followed and closed the door behind her, smirking at Arthur, who was still catatonic against the wall.

Gwaine stood in the center of the cell running his hands through his hair, his gaze bouncing from the figures receding into the dark at the end of the hallway and Arthur's stunned expression. For once, no witty remarks came to mind. He was convinced Merlin was a dead man. He and Arthur might as well be, too.


	11. Scratch

** **A/N: ****I wanted to thank you all for your lovely reviews. I appreciate the input and they've been keeping me motivated to update quickly. AND...I have an opinion question for you. I have an idea, but I haven't completely decided where my Merthur is going in this story. Where do _you_ want to see it go?

* * *

><p><strong>10. Scratch<strong>

* * *

><p>As soon as they left and Arthur and Gwaine were alone in the cell again, Gwaine sighed and walked over to the back wall, a few feet from Arthur. He leaned his forehead on the cold stone of the wall and stood there listening to his own breaths for a while. When he finally pulled himself together, he noticed Arthur still hadn't moved.<p>

"Arthur…" Gwaine said as he pushed back from the wall.

"Don't, Gwaine. Just don't," Arthur replied softly, so low that Gwaine almost didn't hear him.

Gwaine went over to Arthur and placed his hands on his shoulders. He shook him lightly, but the only response he got was a scowl. Gwaine stood and watched Arthur for a few minutes. When he couldn't take Gwaine staring at him any longer, Arthur spoke. "I trusted him. More than any other person, I trusted him."

Gwaine sighed again, but this time it was forced. He dropped his hands from Arthur's shoulders and looked away, his eyes darting around the cell. "So what if he has magic," he said quietly, gauging Arthur's anger, "He just gave himself up to save _you_. And he would've known how you'd react. But he did it anyway."

There was a part of Arthur that knew Gwaine was right, that Merlin was more of a hero than a traitor. But, the rest of him couldn't shake the years of hatred of magic that his father had drilled into him. He finally tore his gaze from the far wall and looked over at Gwaine. "Did you know?'

Gwaine shook his head. "No. Well….I suspected. But I didn't know."

Arthur rolled his head back against the wall so he was looking up at the ceiling. "Why didn't he tell me?" He cursed under his breath and the only part Gwaine could make out was "Damn it, Merlin."

"You know exactly why he didn't tell you." Gwaine waved an arm in Arthur's direction. "I mean, look at you. It's like you've completely forgotten what Merlin means to you and all you can see is the magic."

Any other day, Arthur may have let that sentence pass, but he rounded on Gwaine, pushing him backwards. "I haven't forgotten anything. _That's the problem_," Arthur hissed as Gwaine stumbled into the wall.

Gwaine grabbed at Arthur's shirt as he fell backwards, pulling the prince against him as he crashed into the wall. "I know," Gwaine said as he held Arthur's arms at his sides and forced him to keep eye contact. He could tell that the only way to snap Arthur into action was to play on the love he had for Merlin. "Look, we don't have time for you to figure out whether or not magic is morally objectionable. Answer me this: do you want Merlin dead?"

Arthur shot Gwaine an angry look, offended that he would even say something like that. "No, of course not. I just-"

"That's it, then," Gwaine said, letting go of Arthur's arms. "We've got a servant to rescue."

Narrowing his eyes a little, Arthur snatched his arms back and crossed them over his chest. His head was still pounding, but it was a secondary distraction at the moment. He replayed the scene in his head. Morgause's instruction to kill him. Merlin crashing into Cenred. Flames from nowhere. Merlin's lips on his neck. Arthur shuddered and turned to face Gwaine. "What are we going to do?"

"Same thing we were doing before," Gwaine said as he pulled his necklace back out of his pocket and immediately went to work on the hinges again. Now he wasn't even trying to be inconspicuous, he just wanted to get it done as fast as he could.

Arthur walked over and inspected the bottom hinge that Merlin had been working on. It was nearly completely stripped. He reached a hand up to unfasten his pin, and then remembered Merlin still had it. Instead, he fished around on the floor until he found a large pebble. It wasn't particularly well suited for the job, but it was all he had to work with, so he'd make do.

Fairly soon, Gwaine seemed satisfied with the job he'd done on the middle hinge and reached up to start scraping at the underside of the top hinge. There were a few minutes where soft scratching was the only thing that broke the silence, but eventually Gwaine dropped his arms and leaned against the bars. "My arms are killing me," he said as he let himself slide down the bars to sit down. His necklace was bent and badly scratched, but he held it out to Arthur. "Here, you can use this for a while. It works better than that rock you've got."

Arthur glanced at Gwaine before taking the necklace, noticing for the first time how tired the knight seemed to be. He was battered and bruised too, and there were remnants of bloodstains still on his shirt in a few places. Gwaine had been watching out for him and Merlin since they got here, and Arthur realized he'd never thanked him for it. It hadn't really been his top priority until right now. "Thanks," he mumbled as he started scratching away at the metal again.

Gwaine smiled just a little, knowing there was a little more to that 'Thanks' than Arthur had said. Arthur just shrugged and went on scraping. After a few minutes, Gwaine reached over and put his hand lightly on Arthur's arm. The prince jumped back a bit, surprised. "I think that's enough down here," Gwaine said and held out a hand. Arthur dropped the necklace into his palm.

Gwaine stood and began working on the top hinge again. "We're going to get him back, Arthur."

Arthur peered up at Gwaine with an unreadable expression. "We'll get him back. But I'm not even sure I know who he is anymore."

"You do," Gwaine replied without looking at him. "Besides, I don't think it matters, anyway. You'd save him from anything. I saw that goodbye. That's how you part with someone you love. Magic or no magic."

Arthur pulled himself to his feet, his blue eyes searching Gwaine's face. "You apparently have more faith in me than I do in myself."

Gwaine smirked and dropped his hands from the hinge. "You have yet to prove me wrong. I think it's done."

"If we can get out of here and manage to get weapons from the dungeon guards, we might be able to make it through the castle for a while. But we still have no idea where they took Merlin," Arthur said, tracing his fingers across one of the bars.

"One step at a time?" Gwaine asked, angling his shoulder toward the door like he was ready to run at it.

Arthur nodded, and slammed into the door at the same time Gwaine did. "One step at a time."


	12. Revenge

**11. Revenge**

* * *

><p>Cenred's grip on Merlin's arm was starting to cut off his circulation as he dragged him up the stairs. For a few seconds, Merlin considered fighting back, if only to regain some bloodflow in his arm. Now that Arthur knew about his magic, it wouldn't make much difference anyway. But it was too early in the game to show all of his cards, and if he didn't comply they'd probably just kill Arthur and make him do whatever it was they wanted him for anyway. He wasn't about to underestimate Morgause's power.<p>

Once they were out of the dungeon and into the hallways of the castle itself, Cenred relaxed his grip very slightly, like he didn't believe Merlin was all that much of a threat. Merlin had to remind himself every few seconds that fighting back with magic right now would only get Arthur killed. So he walked along with Cenred quietly until Morgause came to a sudden halt in front of a pair of large wooden doors.

Morgause pushed the doors open and Cenred led him into the room, a different one then he had been taken to earlier. This one was barren except for a pole in the center of the room. Merlin also found it somewhat disconcerting that the room already smelled of blood. Cenred dragged him over to the pole and tied him up with his arms behind him. Morgause came over and whispered a few words over the ropes and Merlin felt them tighten just enough for him to be extremely uncomfortable.

Morgause and Cenred left without a word, closing the wooden doors behind them and leaving Merlin to struggle against his ropes. He tried a number of different spells, but whatever Morgause had done to them had made them effectively indestructible.

He had expected them to return fairly quickly, but as time went by and they didn't come back, Merlin couldn't help but wonder if their plan wasn't just to leave him there to die. The longer he stood there against the pole, the more he let his mind wander over everything that had happened. He wouldn't be surprised if Arthur never spoke to him again. On the bright side, if there was a bright side, Gwaine didn't seem to mind that he had magic. So, assuming they both lived, he'd still have at least one friend.

But Merlin could only focus on Gwaine for so long. His thoughts kept slipping back to Arthur. The anger in Arthur's eyes as he left the cell had been unmistakable, and it had nearly broken Merlin's heart. He closed his eyes, centering in on the dull throb of the cut on his neck. It was starting to heal, but it was still sore. He imagined Arthur's hand pressing against his skin, his fingers tracing across the line of his jaw. Frustrated, he started pulling at the ropes again, but it was no use. Angry tears welled up in his eyes but he blinked them back.

Just as he was recovering his composure, one of the doors opened and Morgause came striding in towards Merlin. She placed a cold hand against his cheek. "Hello, Merlin."

Four guards shuffled into the room carrying a large cauldron. Cenred followed them in, an old book in one hand and a number of sparkling vials held against his other arm. Morgause told them where to place the cauldron; it ended up three or four feet in front of Merlin. The guards turned and left, and Cenred placed all of the items gingerly on the floor next to the cauldron.

Morgause turned to Cenred and looked him up and down a few times. She sighed. "Cenred, it's probably best that you leave now. You don't want to be caught in the crossfire of magic of this magnitude. But I would appreciate it if you'd send my sister in. It's almost time."

Cenred grunted his agreement and swept out of the room, letting the door slam shut behind him. Morgause wandered over to the assortment of items on the floor and picked through them carefully, making sure everything she needed was there.

"What's the spell?" Merlin asked her through clenched teeth.

"Mm?" She responded like she hadn't heard him.

"The spell. What does it do?"

Morgause smiled and traced her hand along the edge of her cauldron. "I guess there's no harm in telling you. You have magic after all, so a part of you _must_ be intrigued. Well, I intend to provide my sister the perfect way to bring down Camelot from the inside. If performed correctly, I can use this spell to give her the power to kill by touch alone. Everyone trusts the king's ward. She could slaughter half the castle before anyone was the wiser."

"I don't," Merlin said nonchalantly. But then he wondered why Morgause felt so comfortable informing him of her plan. "What do you need me for?"

Morgause's smile widened as she explained. "Every ingredient in this spell has its importance, and is completely necessary for it to work correctly. But the binding agent, the one that ties them all together and provides the force behind the amplification of power- that's you. Your blood, Merlin, will be what finally breaks Uther Pendragon."

Merlin's eyes widened, but he refused to let Morgause see the fear that was coursing through his body. He'd tried every way he could think of to break the ropes. His magic was useless to him if he couldn't get his hands free. At the moment, he could probably send something or other whizzing towards Morgause's head, but anything he did, she'd see coming.

There was a steady clicking of footsteps from the hallway, and the door opened again. Morgana walked in, a long purple dress flowing behind her. She shut the door quietly and locked it behind her, then walked to Morgause's side.

Morgause picked up the book from the floor and opened it, leaning it against the edge of the cauldron. She flipped to one of the last pages in the book. "Are you ready, sister?"

Morgana glanced over at Merlin and their eyes met for a few seconds. They had once been the eyes of his friend, a person he trusted over many others. Now all he saw was cold hatred and determination to get her revenge on Uther. It obviously didn't matter to her anymore that she might hurt other people, former friends, in the process.

She looked away and addressed her sister, "I'm ready."

"What happened to you, Morgana?" Merlin asked under his breath, shaking his head.

Both Morgause and Morgana pretended not to hear him. Morgause unsheathed a small, jeweled dagger from where it had been hanging against her hip, then walked over to Merlin. She placed her left hand on his chest as she twirled the dagger in her right. "Then let's begin."


	13. Hallways

**12. Hallways**

* * *

><p>The door made a sickening wrenching sound as the hinges snapped. It swung open, but didn't break on the side with the lock. It hung there limply as the metallic crash echoed down the hallway. The problem with taking their plan one step at a time was that they had no way of anticipating the guards' reactions, though they could assume what their responses would be. Luckily, they were right.<p>

Instead of calling for help, the two guards stationed at the end of the hall jumped up as soon as they heard the crash and ran to investigate the sound. Arthur caught a hint of a smile as it crossed Gwaine's face. Even unarmed, they could handle the two guards.

The first guard stopped in his tracks and his eyes widened when he saw Gwaine and Arthur running towards him. He went to pull out his sword, but he'd barely gotten it halfway out of its sheath when Gwaine barreled into him, sending him sprawling back into his compatriot. The second guard had managed to get his sword out, but he wasn't entirely sure who to swing at.

The guard that had fallen to the floor stayed there, a bit dazed, and barely even noticed when Arthur snatched his sword from him. The guard still standing barely parried Arthur's first blow. He started to yell for backup.

Arthur kept him relatively busy and even landed a few blows before Gwaine thought of an idea to shut him up. He snuck around behind him while all of his focus was on defending himself from Arthur's sword. Gwaine grabbed him by the back of his shirt and swung him headfirst into the nearest wall.

Arthur hadn't actually been expecting that move either, so he gave Gwaine a strange look before he shrugged and went over to the first guard. He was conscious, but barely. Arthur pulled the keys off of his belt and dragged him though the dirt to one of the cells. He unlocked it and put the guard inside, motioning for Gwaine to do the same.

Gwaine grabbed his guard by one of his arms and dragged him into the cell as well. He picked up the sword that was just left on the ground and gave it a few swings, getting a feel for the new blade.

"Is it me, or was that too easy?" Gwaine said with a smirk as Arthur locked the door behind them.

Arthur shrugged again and started walking down the hallway. "Well I didn't expect that part to be too hard, but now we don't even know where we're going."

'"Right." Gwaine followed Arthur up the stairs in silence. They both paused when they reached the top, the door that led out to the main floor of the castle. Arthur put a finger to his lips and Gwaine nodded as he turned the handle and pushed the door open as quietly as possible.

The hallway was deserted, and it was dark and cold. They were at the far end of a dead-end corridor, so they didn't have to make any decisions about directions just yet. Both of their swords were at the ready, but there was no sign of anyone else in this part of the castle. They came to a hall that branched off of the one they were in, and they took it because this one seemed to be leading them nowhere useful.

The sound of footsteps rounding a corner caught them off guard, but Arthur was able to recover fast enough to clamp his hand over the soldier's mouth and pin him against the wall. Gwaine brought a sword up to the man's throat.

"If you make any noise other than to answer our questions," Arthur said as authoritatively as he could and tilted his head in Gwaine's direction, "He'll kill you."

The soldier nodded and Arthur reluctantly removed his hand from the man's mouth. "Now. Have you seen Morgause or Cenred come through here with a prisoner? Lanky guy, black hair?"

"Um…no," the soldier replied, his voice wavering a little. Arthur glared at him and he continued, "But…but I just came on duty. And I'm not sure if whoever you're looking for is there, but Cenred had the guards in the shift before mine cordon off one of the old war rooms. Never did say why." He pointed farther down the hall they had just turned into. "That way."

Arthur let go of the man and pushed him down the other hallway. "Get out of here. If you talk to anyone…." He let the threat hang in the air. The soldier nodded again and took his chances, running off in the opposite direction. Arthur figured they had maybe five minutes before an entire squad of soldiers showed up to drag them back to the dungeon.

"We've got to hurry," Arthur said as he started jogging down the hall.

Gwaine kept pace with the prince down the hall, but they both slowed when they came to another corner and could hear voices in the distance. They peered around the corner, where four soldiers were standing guard over a large set of double doors.

"I'm guessing that's the war room," Gwaine whispered in Arthur's ear.

Arthur glanced back at him and gave him a withering '_you think?_' look. "There's only four of them," he whispered back. "I'll get the ones on the right side of the door, if you'll take the others."

Gwaine nodded, "Now or never."

These guards were much more alert than the others had been, and they were practically on top of Arthur and Gwaine as soon as they stepped out of the shadows. Even so, the hallway was small enough that the guards were getting in eachother's way, but Gwaine and Arthur had more than enough space to move.

Arthur was the first to make contact, his sword sliding into the stomach of one of the more eager guards. He dropped there, and one of his companions slipped in the pool of blood not ten seconds later, giving Gwaine enough time to lunge in and take care of him as well.

Now the other two were angry and the fight became more intense. Gwaine hopped over the corpses on the floor and made his way closer to the doors, separating the two guards. The guard that Arthur was fighting managed to knock him to the ground, cutting a gash across his shoulder and his chest. It wasn't deep, but he pretended to be seriously injured. When the guard closed in to make sure he was out, Arthur jammed his sword into the guard's side, and he collapsed on top of him.

Gwaine watched this happen, because just as the man fell onto Arthur, the guard Gwaine was fighting slammed him into the wall, holding him up by his throat. Gwaine swung his leg around and managed to get his knee to connect with the guard's ribcage. There was a soft crack of bone breaking, and the guard dropped Gwaine. He killed the man quickly, then went to help Arthur extract himself from the body still on top of him.

Gwaine held out his hand and he pulled Arthur up, shooting him a worried glance when he saw the line of blood across the front of his shirt. Arthur waved off his concern and headed for the doors. Sword still at the ready, he pushed on one of the doors. It didn't move.

Arthur stared at it, confused. Gwaine cocked his head to the side, intrigued. "Well, there's something we didn't anticipate."


	14. Cut

**13. Cut**

* * *

><p>Merlin flinched at Morgause's touch, but he set his jaw and tried not to show how disgusted he was with this entire situation. She circled around behind him, tracing her hand across his chest and down his arm as she went. He heard her whisper something and he could feel the ropes loosen. They were still holding him in place, but not with magic anymore.<p>

Morgause extracted his right arm from the ropes. As soon as she did, he shook her off and began an incantation meant to knock her across the room. Before he had a chance to finish it, she had raised a hand and whispered a counter-spell. He was being pushed back against the pole so forcefully he thought he was going to suffocate.

"None of that," she crooned before releasing him. She snatched his arm back up and held it out in front of him, digging her nails into his skin. She sighed and looked over to Morgana. "The cauldron. It needs to be a bit closer."

Morgana nodded and went to the far side of the cauldron, shoving it forward with both hands. It was now close enough to Merlin that when he stretched out his arm, he could lay it on the edge of the cauldron, right below his elbow.

"Morgana, add the first four ingredients," Morgause said, never taking her eyes off of Merlin. Morgana checked the book, then pulled four of the small vials from the group of items on the floor. Two of them were liquid, which she added first. The third was a dark powder Merlin couldn't place. The last ingredient she added almost looked like tiny crystals. As far as he could tell none of them were items that he had ever worked with. He considered asking, but he didn't really feel like talking to Morgana at the moment.

Stepping forward, Morgause held Merlin's arm down against the cold metal of the cauldron. Just as the tip of her knife bit into the skin of his wrist, Morgana spoke up, "Wouldn't it be faster…easier if you drained from his neck?"

"Can't stand to see me die slowly?" Merlin snapped at her before he'd completely thought it through. She glared at him, but didn't say anything else.

Morgause took the pressure off of her knife for a second as she addressed Morgana, "Yes, it would be quicker that way. But it would reduce the potency of the spell." She turned back to what she'd been doing before she was interrupted. The blade sliced into Merlin's flesh, deep enough to hit bone. He bit his lip to silence the cry of pain hovering in the back of his throat. He winced, shutting his eyes against the pain.

He could feel blood flowing across his wrist, dripping off the sides of his arm and down his fingers. Against his better judgment, Merlin looked down at the wound. Instantly, he knew he had minutes, at most, before he was unconscious. He was losing blood incredibly quickly.

There was a scuffle and a few noises from outside. Morgause glanced warily at the door and then her eyes flashed to Morgana. Morgana looked back at the door, but by that time, the noise had subsided. "Probably just changing guards," she said, though there was a little doubt in her voice.

Merlin was getting lightheaded, but he did his best to keep his eyes open. The noise outside the door had given him momentary hope, but the extended silence afterward pretty much dashed it. Just as he was slipping out of consciousness, the room seemed to be spinning a bit, he heard a sound that he recognized. Morgause and Morgana recognized it, too. Someone was throwing their weight against the door, trying to open it.

The sides of his vision were getting dark, and he was finding it hard to think, but Merlin did the only thing he could think of, and mumbled an incantation. The bar across the door slid off, clattering to the ground. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Morgana rushing across the room to pick it up.

The doors burst open, surprising Gwaine and Arthur. They both stood there for a second, taking in the situation. Morgause. The cauldron. Unconscious Merlin. Morgana. _Morgana?_ They hesitated just a second too long, because they both went flying into a wall. They struggled to their feet, but Morgause threw them back again. She waved a hand at Morgana and she bounded from the room, undoubtedly in search of Cenred and as many of his men as she could find.

Again, Gwaine and Arthur fought their way back to their feet, but Morgause's magic was too strong for them, especially without Merlin there to help tip the balance. But, now that Morgana was gone, Morgause head to watch both of them at once. Arthur got an idea, though he doubted it would work.

He motioned for Gwaine to stay where he was, and he made a break for the cauldron. Morgause watched him go, considering throwing him back next to Gwaine, but she assumed he was just going to see if Merlin was alive. Which he probably wasn't. While Morgause was facing Gwaine, Arthur went for the ingredients on the floor. Gwaine saw him, and realized what it was he was trying to do. He got up and started running toward the door, making sure all of Morgause's attention was on him.

Arthur picked up as many of the vials as he could in one pass and smashed them against the inside wall of the cauldron. Morgause turned around, her hair whipping across the agonized expression on her face.

"No!" She screamed at Arthur, "You'll pay for this Pendragon. Do you hear me?" She stormed from the room, shaking. Her anger left a strange note in the air. They didn't know where she'd gone now that they'd destroyed whatever potion it was that she'd been making, but someone was bound to be back any second.

Gwaine scrambled across the room toward Arthur and Merlin. Arthur leaned on the cauldron, panting, and yanked one of his sleeves off of his shirt, right at the seam. As soon as he got close enough to Merlin to bandage his wrist, he started to worry that they were too late. He tied the sleeve as tightly as he could over the wound, but he wasn't sure it was going to be enough. He leaned in close, letting out a sigh of relief when he could still hear Merlin breathing softly.

Gwaine slid his sword through the back of the ropes and cut them all with one swift motion. Merlin fell forward and Arthur caught him, holding him against his chest. He picked Merlin up without thinking, and winced as pain shot through the fresh cut on his chest. Gwaine stepped in when Arthur faltered, and reached to take Merlin from him, "I'll take him. We have to get out of here."

Arthur tightened his grip on Merlin and shook his head. "I've got him. Let's go."


	15. Bandages

**14. Bandages**

* * *

><p>Arthur and Gwaine turned left out of the war room, the opposite direction from which they had come. As they turned into a side hallway, they could hear Cenred's men arriving at the now empty room. They walked as quietly and as quickly as they could, but Merlin was weighing Arthur down and he refused to let Gwaine carry him. But, Gwaine did reach over to take Arthur's sword from him so he wouldn't risk cutting Merlin with it.<p>

As they rounded another corner, they came across a large vaulted door that appeared to lead outside. Gwaine pointed it out, but then he noticed Merlin's arm. Blood was starting to seep through the fabric. "Arthur," he whispered, "We've got to stop so we can fix that. Out the door."

Arthur nodded, and Gwaine opened the door. They both had to squint to shield their eyes from the sudden burst of light. It _had _been a few days since they'd been outside. They went a little ways away from the door and Arthur put Merlin down, leaning his back against the castle wall.

"We can't stop for very long," Arthur said as his fingers worked to unite the makeshift bandage.

"You're bleeding, too, Arthur." Gwaine ripped a strip from the edge of his shirt, and handed it to Arthur. Arthur removed the bloody fabric from Merlin's wrist and tossed it in a nearby bush.

"I know," Arthur replied, but he didn't even bother looking at his own wound. It stung a little, but he could tell that it wasn't deep. It probably wasn't a good idea to leave it unbandaged, but given enough time it would heal on its own.

Upon inspecting Merlin's wound, he found it to be a little better than he had expected. It was still bleeding, but it was trickling rather than gushing. The edges of the cut even seemed to be clotting some. He wasn't sure how much blood Merlin had actually lost, but Arthur assumed now that the wound was healing it was unlikely he was going to die.

Arthur took the strip of cloth Gwaine had handed him and tied it back over Merlin's wrist, making it as tight as he possibly could without completely cutting off his circulation. There was no time to put pressure on this particular wound.

As Arthur got up and reached to scoop Merlin up again, Gwaine stopped him. He inspected the wound on Arthur's chest, ignoring the prince's protests. It was nearly a foot long, tracing from the edge of his shoulder right to the center of his chest. It was caked with blood and dust, but once Gwaine was satisfied that it was nothing more than a flesh wound and had almost stopped bleeding, he let Arthur go to retrieve Merlin.

Arthur picked him back up and they started in the direction of the woods behind the castle. They hadn't made it more than a few steps before Merlin's quiet, wavering voice stopped them in their tracks. "Arthur?"

Arthur looked down at Merlin and allowed himself a small smile. Merlin turned his head, looking around. "What's going on? Are we outside?"

Gwaine chuckled as they started walking again. "Yeah, Merlin. We're outside."

"But we have to stop Morgause. I know what she's trying to do. Someone has to-"

"Merlin, slow down," Arthur cut him off. "You've been unconscious for a while and you've lost a _lot_ of blood. Now. Slower."

Merlin sighed and flexed his fingers, remembering what had happened. He flinched at the pain in his wrist. "The spell in that book, it will allow Morgana to kill any living thing. Just by touching it." Merlin leaned his head back against Arthur's arm, waiting for it to click.

Arthur stopped walking. "She means to kill my father?"

Merlin nodded. "We have to warn him…" Merlin's voice faded off and he closed his eyes. He didn't appear to be unconscious this time, just exhausted, so Arthur didn't press him any further. For a second he wondered why someone with magic was so keen on protecting his father. But, his thought process was cut short by dogs barking in the distance.

Gwaine looked behind them and cursed under his breath. "Even if they can't see us…..Arthur, those dogs will be able to smell blood for miles."

Arthur sighed, knowing he was right. "We can't leave Merlin, and we're not fast enough to outrun the dogs."

"Go. Go back to you father. Warn him. I'll stay with Merlin and….we'll find another way out. For all I know once he has the right amount of blood in him, he might be able to blast our way out of there," Gwaine said, reaching for Merlin.

For a second Arthur considered it. But he knew how that plan would end. "No. My father will never send reinforcements to come and help you two. But he _will_ send them for me. You go. Tell him everything. Get help."

Gwaine took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. Arthur was right about how Uther would react, but he didn't feel right leaving them like this. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, unsure of what to do. The expression on Arthur's face told him that he wasn't going to change his mind, though. Gwaine held Arthur's sword out to him, but the princed waved him off, telling him to take it with him. He sighed, "Okay. Okay. Good luck."

Gwaine took one last look at Arthur and laid a hand on Merlin's arm for a second before he ran off toward the trees.

Just before Gwaine disappeared into the woods, Arthur called after him, "Don't mention Morgana! You'll just get yourself killed!"

Then Gwaine was gone, and Arthur was left holding an injured, sleeping Merlin, standing in a field while waiting to be found by a pack of hunting dogs. He laid Merlin down in the grass and sat next to him. He could hear the dogs getting closer, but he ignored them. He checked Merlin's bandage again, and it seemed to be holding up relatively well.

Some of Merlin's dark hair had fallen across his forehead when Arthur had laid him down. Arthur reached out a hand and pushed it back, noticing Merlin wasn't as pale as he had been. Granted, he still wasn't a particularly healthy color, but he didn't look like he was on death's door anymore. He traced his hand across Merlin's forehead. A part of Arthur's brain told him he should still be angry with Merlin, and maybe part of him was, but at that moment, his servant was so vulnerable and so defeated, he couldn't draw out any anger.

The first of the dogs bounded over the top of the hill headed straight for them. Cenred and at least a dozen soldiers weren't far behind. They weren't entirely sure how to react when Arthur didn't put up a fight, or even attempt to move at all.

Arthur reached over and shook Merlin awake lightly. "Hey, time to go."

Merlin opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times until Cenred's men and their dogs came into focus. He looked at Arthur, confused.

"Take them back to their cell," Cenred barked at his men, "Then find the other one."

A pair of guards seized both Arthur and Merlin. The one who had Arthur's arms smelled like he hadn't washed in years and Arthur cringed. The guard laughed as they were dragged back toward the castle. "I'm the least of your problems, princey. Lady Morgause is furious. I don't know what you did, but I doubt that head is going to be on your shoulders much longer."


	16. Runner

**15. Runner**

* * *

><p>Gwaine ran as fast as he could, weaving in and out of the trees. He could still hear the dogs in the distance, but if he kept up this pace, he might actually be able to outrun them because they still weren't sure where he was. He ran full tilt for five or ten minutes before he had to stop to catch his breath. The part of the forest he had stopped in was extremely dense, so he leaned against a tree for a while, resting.<p>

He didn't allow himself too much time, though. He needed to get back to Camelot as fast as possible. Once he had caught his breath, he took off again, headed toward a gap in the far side of the line of trees. As he neared the edge of the forest, he thought he heard the dogs again, but when he didn't see anything, he figured it was just the paranoia and exhaustion going to his head.

He kept running, only stopping every so often to catch his breath and to make sure he wasn't followed. The trip back to Camelot would go a lot slower without a horse. But, at the very least, he wanted to make it across the border by nightfall.

* * *

><p>Morgause paced back and forth across the bedroom she had been staying in. Morgana sat on the edge of the bed, watching her. Every once in a while she would mumble something under her breath, or stop and glare at a random corner of the room.<p>

"Sister…" Morgana started.

"We will have to start the spell from scratch. Merlin will have to regain his strength before we can try again," Morgause said, stopping in front of a window. She stared out toward the distant woods behind the castle. Cenred's men still hadn't caught the escaped knight, and she was getting impatient. But, at least she still had the prince and the warlock. They were the ones she needed anyway.

"How long?" Morgana asked, stepping to the window next to her sister.

"We must begin gathering the ingredients again, immediately. But, we'll give Merlin a day or so. We can't afford to wait much longer than that if that knight is not found. He'll be heading straight to warn Uther."

At the mention of Uther's name, Morgana scowled and followed her sister's gaze across the trees. "Cenred's men are all but useless. If they've not already caught him, then he isn't going to be found."

Morgause shrugged. Her anger had finally calmed, but now her vendetta against Arthur had been solidified. She would see him dead, but not before he watched his friend die first, with the knowledge that his father would be next. "No matter. It will take him more than a day on foot to reach Camelot, and if Uther even believes him, nearly another day for the Knights to arrive. By then, you'll be unstoppable."

* * *

><p>Arthur and Merlin's new cell was across the hallway from the old one. The guards tossed them in unceremoniously and locked the door behind them. Arthur couldn't help but notice they'd tripled the guard in the dungeon. There were two men stationed a little ways down the hallway on either side of the cell. There were two more in the middle of the hall, in addition to the two stationed at the door. Given their current state, he imagined this was probably overkill, but it seemed Cenred and Morgause weren't taking any more chances.<p>

Merlin was still only half awake, so Arthur pulled him over to the back corner of the cell and they sat down next to eachother against the wall. They were quiet for a while and neither of them looked at the other.

Arthur fidgeted with the fabric of his shirt, kicked some dust around, and every once in a while rotated his injured shoulder to see if it was healing yet. Now that the adrenaline of the rescue and the attempted escape were wearing off, the cut was beginning to throb a bit, and his frustration with Merlin was beginning to resurface.

Merlin closed his eyes because the room was still spinning a little. Arthur didn't seem to want to talk to him, and he wasn't going to push the subject until he could see straight. His head seemed to be clearing some, but he felt like taking a nap for the next few days. He had a sudden thought. "Where's Gwaine?" he asked, somewhat worried that he already knew the answer.

"Escaped. I think. Sent him to get help," Arthur replied curtly, then continued ignoring Merlin.

"Oh," Merlin said, mostly to himself. "That's good." He shut his eyes again. This wasn't the reaction he'd expected. He'd expected Arthur to yell at him, to ask him to explain, something, anything. Merlin didn't know how long he could stay cooped up in this cell with Arthur ignoring him completely, though. That was the last thought he had before he drifted off to sleep again.

Arthur glanced over at Merlin while he slept, completely unsure of what he was going to do. He should probably hear Merlin out; give him the benefit of the doubt. But every time he thought about Merlin's magic, he felt like he was going to be sick. Plus, now there were new complications to the situation. He wanted nothing more than to believe Morgana was being forced to betray them, but he had seen her face, her eyes. The hatred and contempt there could not be faked. It would destroy his father. He tried not to think about it. He could only deal with one revelation at a time, and Merlin was the one sleeping next to him. And ironically, unlike Morgana, he didn't appear to want Uther dead.

Every so often a guard would march by to check that they were still in their cell and that they weren't planning another elaborate escape. Neither of them had moved at all since they'd been captured again, but Arthur made a point of scowling at the guards whenever they passed. Eventually he realized that he was exhausted, too, and should probably take this opportunity to get some sleep. It was unlikely that he'd get another chance any time soon. He scooted a little closer to Merlin and laid his head back against the wall, closing his eyes. He had the vague thought that if he fell asleep now, he would wake up in the middle of the night. Oh well, at least the guards were bound to be less vigilant then.


	17. Heal

**16. Heal**

* * *

><p>The sound of raucous laughter echoed down the hallway, waking Merlin suddenly. Arthur was stirring next to him, fighting the urge to wake up. Merlin smiled because the room seemed to be in focus and he wasn't lightheaded anymore. He really wanted to scratch at his wrist, but he thought better of it. He shifted a little, drew his knees up to his chest and looked over at Arthur.<p>

Arthur mumbled something incoherent and then glanced over at Merlin, a look of confusion on his face until he heard the guards laughing. Probably gambling now that all their prisoners were asleep. He narrowed his eyes at Merlin. "How's your wrist?"

Merlin was surprised at the question, but said, "Okay, I guess. Itchy. But Gaius always says itchy is good."

Arthur nodded and turned away from Merlin. Merlin put his head in his hands, deciding if now was the time for this argument. It probably wasn't, but he couldn't take much more of this.

"Is this how it's going to be now?" Merlin asked quietly, keeping his eyes focused on the bars of the cell so he wasn't tempted to look at Arthur. He didn't want to see his reaction.

Arthur sighed, but he didn't turn back around. "What do you want me to say, Merlin. I'm not even sure I know who you are. Magic, Merlin, it's against everything Camelot stands for. You know that."

"But it doesn't have to be," Merlin said softly. "Magic isn't evil, people just choose to do evil things with it."

"And then how do I know you won't do the same?" Arthur snapped as he turned around to face his servant. Merlin was astonished when he realized the tone in Arthur's voice wasn't anger, it was fear.

"Do you really have such a low opinion of me? Have I _ever_ given you a reason not to trust me?" Merlin asked, fighting back tears.

"When would you have told me? If it hadn't happened here. Would you ever have told me?"

Merlin let a sad smile cross his lips. "I wanted to tell you. I've always wanted to tell you. But it was never the right time. Your father, Camelot….there were just too many other things affecting the way you would have reacted."

Arthur sighed and looked away. He still felt betrayed, but he also knew Merlin was right about what his reaction would have been. Just then, a guard came by to check on them and placed two metal cups of water inside the bars before walking away. Arthur didn't even bother to glare at him this time.

Merlin got up shakily and retrieved the cups, handing one to Arthur as he sat back down. Arthur took it wordlessly. Merlin took a few sips from his own cup. The water was warm, and a little disgusting, but he was dehydrated so he drank most of it in a few gulps, but he left some at the bottom. He placed the cup back down on the ground, directly between him and Arthur.

Arthur finished his water quickly, then turned to Merlin when he realized he was staring at him. "What?"

"Take off your shirt. I want to show you something," Merlin instructed.

Arthur's eyes widened and he raised his eyebrows. "What?" he repeated. But before Merlin could respond, he'd already started pulling his shirt over his head. It was muffled through the fabric, but Merlin heard him say, "You'd better have a really good reason…"

Merlin moved closer to Arthur and picked up the cup he had put between them. He dipped the edge of his sleeve into the water and started wiping the dirt out of the cut across Arthur's chest. Arthur flinched at first, but he didn't say anything. Arthur found his eyes wandering across Merlin's neck as he leaned in. His hand felt heavy against his chest.

Arthur reached up and grabbed Merlin's arm lightly. "What are you doing?"

Merlin waved him off and continued cleaning the wound. When he had finished, he put the cup down and looked at Arthur. "Do you trust me?"

_Not at the moment, really_, Arthur thought. But he nodded at Merlin anyway.

Merlin brought a hand up to rest over the wound. His hand rose and fell with Arthur's breaths and he just stared at it for a few seconds, mesmerized. He snapped himself back to reality, and started one of the easiest healing incantations he knew. The cut wasn't bad, so it would probably work. His eyes flashed gold and Arthur wriggled back against the wall, worried. But the process was over in a matter of seconds, and Merlin looked back at Arthur, his eyes blue again.

"See? Do you still think I'm evil?" Merlin asked, tilting his head to the side with a smirk.

It might have been the smirk, or it might have been the fact that Merlin's hand was still pressed against his chest, but Arthur's response got caught in his throat. "I- well, look,…I never thought you were evil, Merlin…" he trailed off.

Merlin shot him a look that said he didn't believe him for a second. He realized he still hadn't moved his hand, and he went to remove it, but Arthur caught it as he pulled away. Arthur dragged him forward by his arm until their faces were less than six inches from eachother. "I need you to promise me that you never have, and that you never will use your magic against Camelot, or against my father."

Merlin blinked at him for a second. "You have my word. I've only ever used it to help. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that promise, Merlin," Arthur said, throwing his arm around Merlin's neck and pulling him forward so he could whisper in his ear, "Because if you break it, I'll have to kill you."

Merlin shivered against Arthur's threat. His breath was warm against Merlin's ear, but then his mouth was gone, tracing down the line of his neck until he found the cut he had patched up not that long ago. Merlin tilted his head, giving Arthur easier access to his neck. Arthur mumbled against the cut, "I'd hate to have to kill you. So hard to find decent help."

Merlin turned and nuzzled against the top of Arthur's head. "You're not going to have to kill me."

Arthur backed up a little, trying to decide whether the decision he was about to make would be a bad one. He ignored the nagging voice in his head and kissed Merlin anyway. Merlin kissed him back, running his hands up Arthur's chest and latching them around his neck.

They almost didn't hear the guard's footsteps approaching. They quickly extracted themselves from eachother and waited for the guard to pass. He stopped in front of the cell and held out his hand. "Need our cups back."

Arthur grabbed both of the cups and brought them to the guard. He raised an eyebrow at Arthur's heavy breaths and flushed face, but then he marched back off with the cups without commenting.

Merlin sighed heavily as Arthur came to sit back down next to him. He tossed Arthur's shirt at him. "You should probably put that back on."

Arthur looked at the shirt for a second, then placed it in his lap. "Let me see your wrist."

Merlin held out his wrist and he let Arthur untie the strip of cloth and inspect the wound. It had clotted, but it didn't look pretty. "Can't you just-"

"No," Merlin said, "Not on myself. I've got to do it the old fashioned way."

Arthur folded the cloth in the opposite direction this time, so the clean side was against the wound. He tied it, but not as tightly as before. When he was done, he let his hand trail down Merlin's arm until their fingers were entwined. Merlin leaned against Arthur, resting his head on his shoulder. "Arthur, you know she's going to do the spell again," Merlin mumbled, the worry apparent in his voice.

"I know."


	18. Return

**17. Return**

* * *

><p>Gwaine didn't stop running until he could see the border town that they had been taken from. Then, because he was exhausted, he slowed a bit, jogging into the edge of the town. He could only hope that at least one of the horses was still wandering around somewhere nearby.<p>

He put two fingers in his mouth and let out a sharp whistle. Panting, he stood in the road and glanced in every direction. He had just about given up when he heard the sound of hoof beats across the far hill. It was apparently Merlin's horse that had stayed around waiting for them to return. He flagged the horse down and swung up into the saddle when it stopped in front of him.

Once he was in the saddle, he slumped over for a second with a smile on his face. He might make it back to Camelot after all. He reached over and checked the saddlebag, which still had some water and a few slices of bread. Taking a few sips, he guided the horse forward through the town, slowly. There was still one more thing he had to do.

He pulled back on the reigns as they approached the spot where the fight had occurred. Gwaine slid off the horse as she came to a halt. Leon's body was still propped against the wall where Merlin had left it, and at first Gwaine turned his head so he wouldn't have to look. He stopped for a second, steeled himself, and took a deep breath. He reached down and picked up the body, laying it across the horse's back.

"Time to go home, friend," he muttered sadly as he used a few ropes to secure the body so the horse could still move at a gallop. He swung himself back up next to Leon and shot a few cursory glances around the town, just to make sure no one was following him. When he was satisfied, he kicked at the horse, sending her racing deeper into Camelot.

At a breakneck pace, he could have made it to Camelot proper in a few hours, but weary, with a weary horse carrying a body, he expected it to take a little longer. The sun was beginning to set by the time he could even see Camelot far on the horizon.

"Almost," he said, but whether he was speaking to himself, the horse, or to the memory of Leon, he couldn't be sure. He stopped for a few minutes to drink a little water, and then he gave some to the horse. It would be well cared for once they returned, but they weren't there yet.

The sun had been down for nearly an hour when Gwaine came galloping toward the gate to the lower city. The guards stationed at the gate moved to block the entrance and Gwaine slowed, exasperated.

"It's me," he said, shaking out his hair and pushing it back from his face. "Let me through."

One of the guards eyed him suspiciously. "Aren't you supposed to be with Arthur? I know he trusts you and all, but Uther still doesn't like you. Tell me you're not here to see the king…"

"Let me _through_," Gwaine growled, sliding both of the swords he had been carrying into his hands. He didn't have time for this. "Or I'll cut myself a path."

The skeptical guard backed out of the way and the other followed suit. As Gwaine guided the horse through the gate, he heard one of the guards mutter, "My god, that's Leon…"

Gwaine didn't wait around to explain. He spurred the horse toward the castle as quickly as it would go through the streets of the lower town. The few people walking around after dark shot him sidelong glances as he flew by them, but nobody dared get in his way.

The guards at the gate to the citadel were a different matter. It was dark, and Gwaine wasn't dressed in mail and a bright red cape. Again, they moved to block the door. "Let me through, I have to speak to Uther. Now."

Gwaine let out an audible sigh of relief when one of the guards stepped forward and peered at him, amused. "Gwaine? What are you doing back? Aren't you supposed to be on-" Percival stopped short when he caught sight of Leon, and his eyes darkened. "What happened? Is Arthur…"

"He's alive," Gwaine said curtly, "For now. I have to…"

Before Gwaine could finish, Percival motioned to the other guard to let him through. Gwaine nodded in Percival's direction as he sped through to the courtyard and dismounted as quickly as possible.

He untied the ropes from around Leon's body and hefted the man into his arms. Not a guard in Camelot would dare to block his path when he was carrying the body of a fallen Knight. As he passed through the doors, he asked one of the knights, "Where's the king?"

The knight pointed to the council chambers and then rushed off in another direction, presumably to tell everyone he knew what he'd just seen. Gwaine banged on the door with his elbow, so he wouldn't have to let Leon go. After a few seconds of silence, Uther drily replied, "Enter."

Thankfully, guards on the inside of the door were nice enough to open them. Uther's eyes widened when he looked up from the parchment. Gwaine imagined he must have been a sight. Dusty and bloodstained, dehydrated and carrying a body. There were a few other people milling around the council chambers that halted in their tracks when Gwaine entered. Some even took a step back.

Holding Leon against his chest with one arm, Gwaine used the other to sweep a number of parchments and various objects from the table. He laid Leon's body gingerly on the wooden table, noting everyone in the room was staring at him like he'd lost his mind.

"What's the meaning of this?" Uther said, crossing to confirm it was, indeed, Sir Leon who was laying on his council table. "Where is my son? What did you do?"

Gwaine bit back his pride and knelt, starting the story from the beginning. He recounted Leon's heroics and their subsequent capture. He told Uther about Morgause and Cenred's alliance, and about the spell she would use to cripple Camelot, if not to kill the king himself. Heeding Arthur's advice, he made no mention of Morgana's role in the plan. He explained that Arthur and Merlin remained in Cenred's dungeon, that Arthur had sent him to gather the Knights to come and get them. Halfway through the tale, Uther had had to sit down, and by the end he was looking quite ill.

Uther gave Gwaine a disapproving glance but sighed, acknowledging his usefulness in this situation. "Sir Leon…He will receive a funeral with the honors he is due. Gather the Knights. You will ride at first light."

Gwaine nodded and then turned to leave. Uther called after him. "Bring Arthur home. Whatever it takes."

As soon as he left the council chambers, Gwaine leaned against a wall in one of the hallways, sliding to the ground. He sat like that for a few minutes, gathering his thoughts, recalibrating his mind, before he got up to go alert the Knights of their impending mission.


	19. Power

**18. Power**

* * *

><p>Merlin was laying with his head in Arthur's lap, staring up at him blankly. Arthur had taken it upon himself to devise another escape plan. So far the plan mostly consisted of Merlin blowing things up as quietly as possible, and a lot of running.<p>

"I appreciate your enthusiasm," Merlin said, "But I don't see how that's at all practical."

"Practical?" Arthur looked affronted. "We're in a dungeon, Merlin. What about our situation lends itself to _practical_?"

Merlin sighed, sitting up. He had to admit, Arthur had a bit of a point. They'd moved beyond any normal jailbreak scenarios he could think of. He leaned back against the wall, biting his lip as he tried to think of a way to get out _before_ he lost pints of blood this time.

"Stop it," Arthur snapped at him lightly.

"Huh?"

"Nevermind," Arthur replied as he crossed his arms over his chest, doing his utmost to ignore Merlin biting his lips. He was still conflicted about how he felt about Merlin, his magic, everything that had happened. This wasn't how it was supposed to be, but at the moment, in this particular dungeon, he didn't care.

"Arthur?" He snapped out of his thoughts, realizing Merlin had been trying to get his attention. "I guess it was a little much for me to start expecting you to listen to me all of a sudden."

"But, I was-"

"Dollop-head," Merlin announced with a grin and gave Arthur a slight nudge with his elbow. "As I was _saying_, if Morgause wants to do the spell again, she's going to have to do it fast. Now that Gwaine's on his way to Camelot, they've kind of got a deadline."

Arthur blinked at Merlin, not entirely sure where he was going with this.

"I can beat her. In a fight. I can beat her," Merlin said, almost confidently enough for Arthur to believe him. "I killed Nimueh. She was just as powerful as Morgause. Maybe more."

This was the first time Arthur had heard of Merlin killing someone, even with magic, so it took him a few seconds to process. "Do you really think you can? Without hurting yourself?"

Merlin sighed, "Well, I'm a little banged up to begin with," He waved his wrist at Arthur, eyes shining, "but it's possible."

"Then I believe you. But maybe you should make your move before you're unconscious this time," Arthur said with a smirk.

"I _had_ thought of that, you know, I'm not a complete idiot."

"No, not completely," Arthur shot back as he reached up and hooked a finger under the collar of Merlin's shirt.

Merlin let Arthur pull him forward, but put a hand over Arthur's mouth before their lips met. "You know, you should really be nicer to me," Merlin mumbled against his hand.

Merlin's eyes went wide as Arthur grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around so his back was pressed against the wall. Arthur gingerly removed Merlin's hand from his mouth. "Crown Prince. I don't have to be nice." Arthur placed his hands on the wall, on either side of Merlin's head.

Grinning, Merlin linked his hands together and placed them lazily behind his head. "I didn't say you had to be nice, just that you _should_."

Arthur narrowed his eyes warily, vaguely wondering what Merlin was playing at. Arthur lowered his forehead so that it rested lightly on Merlin's. "Was that a threat?"

Merlin did his best to look abashed, "Sire, I would never…"

"Yes, Merlin, you would," Arthur said, his breath ghosting over Merlin's lips.

Merlin shrugged and let Arthur kiss him, not realizing until that moment how dehydrated they both were. Arthur's lips felt like sandpaper, and Merlin guessed his weren't much better. Despite himself, he nipped at Arthur's bottom lip catching it in his teeth for just a second.

Arthur's breath caught in his throat, but a tiny moan escaped his lips. He could swear he heard bells ringing-no, not bells, keys—and then Merlin was pushing him back and muttering something about "terrible timing".

The steady clank of keys got closer and Arthur groaned as Morgause approached them flanked by two guards. "Merlin. Shall we try again?" She opened the door and stared at him with a sickeningly sweet smile.

Merlin glanced at Arthur for reassurance then shook his head casually. "No, I don't believe I'm interested. Thanks anyway."

Arthur suppressed a snicker as Morgause's face twitched, trying to keep the smile in place. She took a few steps into the cell, her hands reaching for Merlin's throat. He laughed, genuinely surprised the guards had been dumb enough to let her into the cell without them. Merlin raised a hand and the door to the cell swung shut. The guards scrambled to reopen it, but it may as well have been soldered in place.

Merlin's eyes shone gold as he turned to Morgause, all of the fury he'd been holding in over the past few days coursing through his veins. Arthur backed into the far corner of the cell, deciding if he was appalled, impressed, or terrified.

Morgause laughed, a hint of gold evident in her eyes now, too. "It'll take more than locked doors to get rid of me." She held up a hand, making a show of clenching her fist. Merlin began to lose focus, feeling his throat close as she glared at him.

He took a deep breath right before he lost all access to his airway and closed his eyes, focusing on his magic. His eyes snapped open and he pushed his hands out in front of him, sending Morgause flying into the stone wall behind her. It was enough for her to lose her concentration, and suddenly Merlin could breathe again. But, she got up quickly, and threw Merlin across the room for good measure. He landed about two feet from Arthur, and didn't get up nearly as quickly.

Looking rather smug, Morgause stepped over Merlin to lay a hand on Arthur's chest. She started chanting an incantation in a low voice, and as soon as Merlin heard her, he was up on his feet again. He slammed her into the wall and held her there, trying to remember a spell to put her to sleep. Nothing came to him. She was writhing against the spell, and he could tell she was going to break free of it any second. "Arthur!"

Arthur looked at Merlin, who motioned for him to come over. Reluctantly, he obliged. When Arthur still looked confused, Merlin explained, "If you'd be so kind as to knock her out?"

Arthur almost laughed, but the situation was still a little too dire for that yet. He punched Morgause as hard as he could, sending her head cracking into the wall a bit, just for good measure. Merlin dropped his arms and huffed tiredly. He turned to the guards outside the cell. Their jaws had dropped about as far as they would go and as soon as Merlin laid eyes on them, they scattered like bugs exposed to bright sunlight.

Merlin undid the spell holding the door shut before he realized Arthur was watching him with a less intense, but strangely similar expression to the ones the guards had worn right before they scattered. "Are you coming, or not?"

Arthur blinked a few times. "Yeah, yeah. I just….yeah."

Merlin shut the door behind him and whispered another spell. "That should keep her in there until she recovers, or until someone else with magic breaks her out."

There was not a guard left in the dungeon. Where they had gone, neither Arthur nor Merlin could be certain, but Merlin had a strong feeling Morgana would be breaking her sister out very soon. "We need to go. How did we get outside last time?"

Finally recovering from his shock, Arthur took the lead, "This way."

As they had expected, they didn't run into a single guard. Arthur pushed the door open and once they were outside, he gave Merlin a funny look. "You could've done that the whole time?" When Merlin shrugged, Arthur continued, "Why didn't you?"

"You know why. I didn't want-" Merlin stopped mid-sentence and slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Oh, no."

"Oh no, _what_?" Arthur asked him warily.

"The book," Merlin said painfully, "Morgause still has the spellbook. All she needs is another person with magic."

"Great. We've saved ourselves, but not Camelot," Arthur sighed and looked longingly at the trees in the distance. "We've got to go back for it."


	20. Disappear

**19. Disappear**

* * *

><p>Once they had re-entered the doorway to the castle, Merlin and Arthur just stared at eachother for a second. They both shrugged. They had both been so focused on the need to retrieve the spellbook that they'd forgotten they had no idea where it was.<p>

Merlin considered it for a moment, then realized his stunt locking Morgause in the dungeon may have worked in their favor. Morgana would be rushing to save her sister, not watching over spell ingredients. Or the book. Merlin leaned over to Arthur and whispered, "Which way is the old war room that you broke me out of?"

Arthur looked at him, unsure why he couldn't find the room himself, then assumed Merlin had blocked it from his memory, considering the tragic and nearly deadly nature of the events that had taken place there. Shrugging, he pointed a finger in the direction of a far hallway, pretty sure that would lead them back to the war room.

Merlin followed Arthur's direction without question. Once or twice they heard footsteps pounding by them in a nearby hallway or a corridor somewhere. But, they made it to the corner that rounded right next to the war room without being seen. Arthur shot a glance around the corner and then whispered to Merlin, "There's only one guard. Everyone else is probably out looking for us of trying to free Morgause."

Smirking, Merlin peeked around the corner as well. He recited an incantation and his eyes glittered gold. Arthur seemed unsure about letting Merlin continue using his magic like this, but before he had time to protest, the guard had fallen asleep against the wall, slumping to the ground. Arthur blinked at Merlin a few times. He had to admit, _that_ was a particularly useful ability.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" Merlin hissed at Arthur, tugging at the side of his shirt. Arthur followed him into the room, glancing over his shoulder every once in a while to make sure no one was about to jump out to attack them.

The room was empty, as Merlin had expected. It looked like Morgana had left in a hurry. A few potion ingredients were laid out on the floor, neatly separated, but next to them, bottles were knocked over and ingredients tossed together in a way they obviously shouldn't have been.

And there it was. The book was lying haphazardly against the base of the cauldron. Merlin assumed this was where Morgana had thrown it right before she had raced from the room. He went over and picked it up, idly flipping through some of the pages. Concentrating, and ignoring Arthur entirely, he managed to create a copy of the book.

He placed it back in the spot where the original book had been. Arthur came over and snatched the original book from Merlin's hands as they went to leave the room. "What's the point of making a new one? I thought we were trying to keep the spells from them."

Merlin sighed as he waved Arthur from the room. "It's not actually a copy. It's an illusion, a trick of the light. It doesn't have any actual spells in it. But, if we're lucky, it might buy us a few extra minutes before someone realizes the real spellbook is missing."

"Oh," Arthur said, shrugging and glancing down at the leather bound tome in his hand.

Merlin snatched it back. "You can look at it later. When we're not still inside Cenred's castle, maybe?"

"Okay, come on," Arthur said and took the lead again, turning around a corner.

Merlin followed him silently back the way they'd come, intensely aware of the heavy weight of the book in his arms. He wasn't sure if it was just because he was exhausted and the book was huge, or if it was just messing with him. He could swear the book held just a little bit of magic of its own, and he didn't like it.

A stray guard wandered into their path as they were approaching the door that led beck outside. He had just raised his voice to summon an unknown number of his friends when Arthur punched him squarely in the jaw and left him spitting his own blood onto the floor. _Not nearly as elegant as my solutions_ Merlin thought as they headed out the door, _but definitely effective._

Once they were out the door, Merlin began inspecting the book more intently. He didn't realize he was lagging a good five or six steps behind Arthur until the prince turned around and snapped at him, "Stop dawdling, Merlin, we don't have all day. We have to make it into the woods before they send out the dogs again."

"Dogs?" Merlin asked, only vaguely remembering the events leading up to their previous recapture. He'd been floating in and out of consciousness, after all.

"Yes. Dogs. Now, let's _go_," Arthur said as he began to pick up his pace, but he kept it slow enough for Merlin to catch up with him. "How long do you think it will be before they figure out we've taken the book?"

"Not long enough," Merlin replied as he finally caught up to Arthur and they made for the line of trees that they could just barely see along the horizon.

"For once, Merlin, you might be right," Arthur replied, still glancing over his shoulder every few seconds.

"Oh, thanks," Merlin answered him sarcastically, then ran ahead of him.

Arthur glared as Merlin sped up, then started running to catch up with him. At the rate they were going they might actually make it into the woods before—

A series of barks rang out behind them, though they could tell the dogs were still a long way off.

"Ugh, not again," Arthur complained and Merlin just looked worried. Shaking his head, Arthur pushed Merlin faster toward the trees, which were just over the top of the next small hill. They both ran full tilt until they reached the front of the line of trees, but then Merlin had to stop to catch his breath. He still wasn't operating at full capacity.

He leaned on a tree, gulping for air as Arthur watched him. "Time to disappear," Merlin mumbled, then added something Arthur didn't understand. All the tracks they had made while running to the woods had disappeared, but the could still hear the dogs, and the dogs could still smell them.


	21. Stream

**20. Stream**

* * *

><p>"What did you do?" Arthur asked as he leaned against a tree, watching Merlin intently.<p>

"I've covered our tracks for now, which should at least confuse the soldiers for a bit. But I can't remember anything off the top of my head to help put the dogs off our trail, other than to keep moving," Merlin told him as he started further into the woods.

"Are you sure?" Arthur asked through heavy breaths. When Merlin gave no response except to continue walking, Arthur sighed and jogged to catch up with him.

They walked for a while in relative silence, every so often stopping to listen for dogs and soldiers. By the third time they stopped, their pursuers seemed to have disappeared. "Finally," Arthur said as he sat down on a large rock quite suddenly.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked him, sounding far more accusatory than he'd meant to.

"Sitting, Merlin," Arthur rolled his eyes. "You should try it some time. You're worse off than me, take a rest, would you?"

Merlin gave an exaggerated sigh and plopped himself down on the other side of the rock, facing the opposite direction of Arthur. He glanced up at the sky for a few seconds, then remarked quietly, "Sun's going down. It'll be dark in a hour or two at most."

"Yep," Arthur responded nonchalantly.

"What? That's all you have to say? Not oh, maybe we should find some shelter or…maybe we should try and make it across the border or…I don't know, something useful."

"Shut up, Merlin."

For once, Merlin obeyed that instruction and spent the next few minutes gazing around at the trees and humming softly to himself.

"Merlin…." Arthur's voice came out like a warning.

"What?"

"_Must_ you make noise constantly?" He asked, standing up. "You're insufferable."

Merlin shrugged and followed Arthur's lead. They started off slowly in relatively the same direction that they'd been headed. "If I remember correctly, the edge of the forest should be close up ahead. And if we're where I think we are, there's a valley with a few streams and a series of caves. Not the most hospitable of places, but definitely the best we're going to find this side of the border," Arthur explained, not bothering to see if Merlin was even paying attention.

He wasn't paying attention. He had started flipping through the spellbook again as they walked. Some of the spells could be completed with simple incantations, things he was more than capable of doing. Others had elaborate concoctions and potions to go along with them, things involving ingredients he'd never even heard of.

The book still felt unnaturally heavy, and every once in a while he found himself caught with the urge to try one of the incantations, just to see what would happen. Just to see if he could.

"Merlin. MERLIN." Arthur was only a foot away from Merlin when he took the book from his hands and closed it shut with a snap. "I understand that you like reading. And apparently magic. But now is not the time to further your education. Now, have you heard a single word I've said in the past ten minutes?"

Merlin stared at Arthur blankly.

"Wonderful. Guess you'll just have to trust my judgment, then." Arthur mumbled just as the line of trees broke in front of them. The sun was sitting on the edge of the horizon, casting a red-gold glow over the edge of the valley. "We're going to have to find shelter in there somewhere. No time to get back across the border before sunset."

"Oh…um…alright," Merlin said slowly, snapping out of the daze flipping through the book had caused. He followed Arthur across the top of the hill and then down the other side, descending into the valley just as the sun finally disappeared.

Within a few minutes of reaching the bottom of the valley, they heard the soft lapping sound of a stream. They each drank as much as they could and then did their best to wipe the grime of Cenred's dungeon off of themselves.

Merlin dunked his wrist in the water gingerly, pulling off the dirty cloth around it. The wound was still fresh and sore, but it was healing. Arthur stripped off his shirt and waded around in the stream for a bit, finally plunging under the water and shaking out his hair violently when he came back up and splattering Merlin.

"Oh, good, thanks for that," Merlin said wearily as he scrubbed a spot of dirt lightly from one of his cheeks.

"If you clean one spot at a time, it's going to take all night," Arthur laughed and threw a handful of water in Merlin's direction. "We're in a hurry, remember?"

"Right," Merlin said through gritted teeth and purposefully ignored the splash of water that had soaked the front of his shirt.

Sighing, Arthur waded over to Merlin and stood next to him. He scooped up as much water as he could manage and dumped it directly onto Merlin's head. Merlin blinked and shook his head. Arthur reached up and wiped the last smudge of dirt from Merlin's cheek, then started pulling him out of the water. "You're clean enough. We've got to find somewhere to sleep before it gets completely dark."

Arthur threw his shirt back on and picked up the book. "Caves are this way."

Merlin followed behind Arthur, wringing out his sleeves and pushing wet black locks back from his eyes. "Clot-pole."

* * *

><p>"If we leave now, we can make it to the border by dawn," Percival said as he strapped a sword to his belt.<p>

"Maybe so, but Uther has instructed us to leave at first light," Gwaine reminded him with a sigh.

"Do you think he'd be angry that we left _early _to go save his son from danger?"

Gwaine ran a hand through his hair and eyed Percival suspiciously. "Alright, alright. It's going to be a hard ride through the night, though."

"Nothing the Knights can't handle," Percival said with a smile. "We'll get them back, Gwaine."

Gwaine had summoned the Knights as Uther had ordered, and the entire host of them filled the armory now. They had been gathering weapons and armor for the next morning, but Percival, after talking privately with Gwaine, had become increasingly worried that time was a factor. Gwaine could do nothing but agree, because truth be told, he was already fearful that Morgause and Cenred had found a way to get rid of his friends. He still felt guilty for leaving them.

Clearing his throat loudly, Gwaine cut through the noise of clinking metal and idle chatter in the armory. "We have been instructed to leave at first light, but we have already prepared to go. Is there a man here that would not follow if I were to leave now and ride through the night?"

A few of the knights mumbled confused questions under their breath, but no one declared that they would stay. "Make your final preparations and saddle your horses then, friends. For Arthur's sake, we'll leave within the hour."


	22. Shelter

**21. Shelter**

* * *

><p>"Over here, Merlin!" Arthur shouted, barely able to see that Merlin was still following him. The caves had been farther into the valley than he'd thought, but eventually, he'd managed to find one that was well covered, but close enough to one of the side streams that they could get water whenever they needed it.<p>

"Jeez, hold on, I'm coming," Merlin said as he shuffled into Arthur's view again.

Arthur shook his head and darted into the mouth of the cave. He leaned on the wall as he waited for Merlin to catch up. "There you are."

Merlin strode into the cave and proudly held up an armful of firewood. "Sometimes, when I'm lagging behind it's not because I'm dawdling."

Arthur shrugged as Merlin dropped the pile of wood at the inner mouth of the cave, but held onto one stick and set it aflame so they could use it as a torch while they inspected the place. It was small as far as caves went, not more than thirty or forty feet in any direction.

When he found a fairly dry spot near the back of the cave, Arthur sat down along the wall and instructed Merlin to bring the firewood over to that spot. Sighing, Merlin handed Arthur the torch and went to retrieve the rest of the wood. He carted it over and dropped it unceremoniously in front of Arthur where it clattered in all directions.

"Merlin!"

"Sorry," he said, not sounding sorry in the slightest.

Merlin sat down next to Arthur as they gathered the wood into a pile and lit it. It cast a comfortable glow around their section of the cave and it wasn't long before the whole cave was nice and warm.

Arthur leaned back against the stone and closed his eyes. "Hopefully we'll be back in Camelot this time tomorrow."

"Hopefully," Merlin echoed.

Opening his eyes, Arthur sat up and turned to Merlin. "You don't sound particularly hopeful."

"I just don't want to start celebrating too soon. We still don't know what happened to Gwaine, and for all we know, Cenred will catch us again before we cross the border."

"Aren't you usually the optimistic one?" Arthur asked, cocking his head a little.

"Usually."

Arthur hadn't noticed until then that Merlin was sitting practically curled up in a ball, with his legs wrapped around his knees, staring at the fire and nothing else. "What is it, Merlin?"

Merlin considered not answering, mostly because he wasn't sure he knew how. "I don't know…I just feel…I'm worried."

"About what?" Arthur asked, genuine concern covering his face.

"Lots of things. Morgana working with Morgause. Gwaine. Morgause's plan. The fact that you know about my magic. Leon. I almost died, Arthur."

Arthur ran a hand through his hair as his eyes involuntarily flicked to Merlin's unbandaged wrist. "Maybe so, but you saved my life by doing what you did."

Merlin finally tore his eyes from the fire to look at Arthur. The prince was staring at him with a mix of awe and bewilderment that didn't make much sense to him. "What?'

Arthur slid himself closer to Merlin along the wall and grabbed his arm, inspecting his wrist. Again. "It's looking a little better. You should probably re-bandage it, though."

Merlin nodded, a little perplexed by Arthur's constant need to check his wounds, and his sudden proximity. He was still working through these thoughts when he felt the warm sensation of Arthur's lips on his wrist. Merlin shuddered involuntarily, but he couldn't suppress the tiny smile that tugged on the edges of his lips.

"This is going to leave a hell of a scar," Arthur mumbled lightly into Merlin's skin.

"I- I'd imagine so," Merlin choked out as Arthur pressed kisses along his forearm.

"And this scar will prove your loyalty beyond a shadow of a doubt. You were protecting me, and this is what it cost you. I won't forget it."

Merlin's brain told him to say _You'd better not_ but all that came out of his mouth was a soft moan when Arthur's lips hit the tender skin at the inside of his elbow. "Arthur…we shouldn't be…"

"No, probably not," Arthur agreed and pulled back, leaning against the wall again, but he made sure his arm was resting against Merlin's.

Arthur felt Merlin's arm tense next to him and he heard him groan like he couldn't believe what he was about to do. He turned and swung himself around so he was practically straddling Arthur. Arthur blinked, but didn't move. "Just so you know, I still think you're a prat."

"Yes I know," Arthur said with a small smile, "And a clot-pole and a dollop-head and any number of made up insults. And you're still the worst servant I've ever had."

"Right then, just so that's settled," Merlin agreed. He kissed Arthur somewhat tentatively at first, but at the first touch of Arthur's tongue across his lips, he gave up trying to fight and just blocked everything else out while he let his tongue dance around with Arthur's for a while.

Arthur slid his hands across Merlin's back, resting one on his waist and the other at the nape of his neck. He had to resist the urge to pull Merlin tightly against him; both of them were still pretty banged up. Even so, he felt the need to shift, so he leaned forward far enough to lay Merlin on the ground without hurting him, but he had to break the kiss to extricate himself.

"What are you doing?" Merlin said, eying him suspiciously.

Arthur didn't bother answering him, he just laid on the cold ground next to him, propping himself up on one shoulder, just looking at Merlin.

"I really wish you'd stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" Arthur laughed.

"Like you can't decide if you want to kiss me, make me polish your armor, or have me do a magic trick."

"You say that like all three of those things aren't currently on the table," Arthur huffed, running a hand across Merlin's chest. "Though, considering I don't have my armor with me at the moment, I suppose that can wait." He grabbed a fistful of Merlin's shirt and pulled him up so their faces were right next to eachother. "And I still haven't decided if I condone you doing magic. Even though it does seem to come in handy."

"Well that does narrow down our options a bit," Merlin mumbled, slightly more huskily than Arthur had expected. He dropped his lips to Merlin's neck for a second before he let go of his shirt.

"So it does," Arthur said and leaned down to kiss Merlin again. Merlin's hands were tangled in the back of his hair, and Arthur let his hands wander across Merlin's chest, down his sides, along his hipbones.

Merlin let out a tiny gasp as Arthur's fingers grazed his hips. He had to keep reminding himself he wasn't dreaming. He could feel Arthur smiling against his lips when he gasped and he wanted nothing more than to let Arthur's hands drift to wherever it was that they were going.

Merlin sat up abruptly enough to worry Arthur, who held his hands up like he was being accused of something he hadn't done. Merlin grabbed his hands. "Not here, Arthur."

Arthur considered asking why, but he figured he already knew the answer. He acquiesced and slid himself over to the wall again, pulling Merlin with him. They laid like that for a while in silence; Merlin's back against Arthur's chest and the prince's arm around his servant. Just as he was starting to fall asleep, Merlin's gaze fell on the spellbook again.

"Arthur, what will you do with the spellbook when we get it back to Camelot?"

"Probably put it in the vaults. Why?" Arthur asked.

Merlin shrugged himself out of Arthur's arm and went to pick up the book. He flipped through it another time and Arthur watched him, curious. "It's messing with my magic Arthur. I don't know what it's doing but…."

"Give me the book, Merlin."

Merlin narrowed his eyes, but handed Arthur the book. He turned it over in his hand once or twice, then tossed it into the fire without a second thought. The flames burst almost to the ceiling of the cave for a few seconds, sending sparks in all directions. Merlin's eyes went wide as he gaped at Arthur.

"Better?" Arthur asked nonchalantly. "Now come back and lay down."


	23. Hoofbeats

**22. Hoofbeats**

* * *

><p>"Bloody…." Merlin's jaw dropped as his eyes shot between Arthur and the fire, wondering if he could snatch the book back up without getting burnt. "What the hell did you do that for?"<p>

Arthur gave him an exasperated sigh. "You've just spent an inordinate amount of time convincing me that not all magic is evil. And fine, maybe I agree. But _some_ of it is. I saw you with that book. That's the kind of magic that'll kill you—it almost did." He nodded gravely at the wound on Merlin's wrist.

Merlin glanced longingly at the fire again, but now it was beside the point because the book had already begun to char. He supposed Arthur was right. Not a single spell in that book had seemed completely safe, even though there were a number of them Merlin had to admit would've been useful.

Merlin huffed and went back over to lay next to Arthur. He kept his back a few inches from Arthur's chest as he stared at the fire. At least there was no way Morgause would get it back. Merlin let out a startled gasp as Arthur reached his arm around Merlin's waist, breaking his concentration.

"Stopped it from messing with your magic, didn't I? It's safer this way. _You're_ safer this way," Arthur said, his breath brushing across Merlin's neck.

"I guess," Merlin acquiesced warily and let his back fall against Arthur's chest.

* * *

><p>The dogs halted at the far edge of the forest, looking confused. They'd been following a trackless trail for hours and Cenred was starting to think he needed to invest in a new pack of hounds. These were apparently far too easily distracted.<p>

"Cenred," One of his lieutenants jogged over to him wearily. "There's nothing here."

"There's been _nothing here_ for an hour," Cenred growled under his breath. "But we'll keep looking. Morgause is more furious than I've ever seen her, and unless you want to be the one to tell her we've lost her prisoners and her book…."

"We can't keep looking all night, though. There's no trail."

"FIND ONE! Let the dogs wander all bloody night until they smell something worth following for all I care!"

The soldier backed up, giving Cenred a terrified bow as he shuffled away to instruct the others to keep looking. Those on horseback went galloping off, and those handling the dogs on foot poked at their animals, frustrated, urging them to find something, anything that would suggest the whereabouts of the prince and his servant.

Cenred placed a hand on a nearby tree, leaning on it for support. He closed his eyes and steadied his breaths. _If I were running toward Camelot…_ he mused. He opened his eyes and smirked. Of course. Since they had no provisions, Arthur and the warlock would need to find water. The only easily accessible source of water in the area was… "The valley!"

Cenred's sudden shout silenced his chattering men and they turned to watch him quizzically.

"You blundering idiots!" Cenred snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose. He continued his explanation, making it sound like he was talking to a child, "Take the dogs to the mouth of the valley. I guarantee they'll find something."

* * *

><p>Merlin swatted halfheartedly at whatever it was that was poking him in the shoulder. He made a valiant attempt to roll over and out of its way. No such luck. He was soon seized by both of his shoulders and shaken until he cautiously opened na eye, finding all that he could see was a swath of blond hair in his field of vision.<p>

"Get up, you oaf," Arthur said, dropping Merlin's shoulders and letting him fall back onto the ground.

Merlin groaned, rolling to where he could see the mouth of the cave. "Arthur, it's not even light outside, yet."

"That's the point, idiot. We've got to get going before the search dogs are out again. Just in case they've picked up our trail."

"But I want to sleep," Merlin mumbled into his arm as he shut his eyes again.

"Nope," Arthur announced, seizing Merlin around the waist and dragging him to his feet. "You can sleep all you want, once we're back in Camelot."

"Ugh….kay," Merlin agreed blearily as he slipped himself from Arthur's arm. He shook his head a few times, sending his hair flying in all directions, and he wiped at his eyes with the heels of his hands. "Fine, let's go then."

"We should be at the border in an hour or two at most. It's not far," Arthur said, striding out of the cave.

"Easy for you to say," Merlin shot irritably, then glared at Arthur as he scrambled to catch up with him. "Why _are_ you so bright this morning? You're never up this early."

Arthur's eyes darkened for a second, but he quickly composed himself. "Didn't sleep much. Guess I'm just hitting my second wind."

Merlin made a slight coughing noise like he didn't believe a word of it, but he was too tired to argue. However, he wasn't too tired for a little taunting. "What, sleeping on the floor of caves not up to your royal standards?"

Arthur ignored the jab and kept walking, speeding up a little just so Merlin would have to try harder to keep up. Once they reached the other end of the valley, Arthur stopped and shielded his eyes against the sun, which was just starting to rise. "That way," he said, raising a hand in front of him.

"You sure?" Merlin asked with a smile. "You don't sound sure."

"I'm sure, Merlin. Shut up and follow me," Arthur told him as he started striding off again, with his head held high. A few minutes later, Arthur called back over his shoulder, "See that stand of trees over there—yeah, by the hill—those are Camelot's trees, Merlin."

"What? _This _is the border?" Merlin stopped in his tracks, unimpressed.

"What'd you expect? A big, bright sign? '_Now leaving Cenred's Kingdom, Hope you enjoyed your stay in the dungeons, Please come back and visit_?'"

"Well…." Merlin didn't really have an adequate response. "No."

"Honestly, Merlin, I don't know why I put up with you," Arthur said conversationally, shaking his head and heading in the direction of the trees he'd just pointed out.

Merlin had a few choice words selected as a comeback for that one, but unless he wanted to end up in the stocks the second they got back to the city, he figured it was probably best he keep those thoughts to himself.

Now that they were safely in Camelot's territory, Arthur's pace slowed considerably, but Merlin wasn't sure if it was because he was getting tired or if he was being nice. Even so, Merlin remained a few steps behind Arthur most of the time. Merlin had to keep reminding his eyes to look somewhere else when he caught himself staring at the line of Arthur's shoulder blades, or the curve of skin along his waist, or the way the morning sun was making his hair shine.

Each time he found himself doing this, Merlin would yank his eyes away and whistle or hum the first thing that came into his head. This would promptly be followed by Arthur saying, "Shut up, Merlin." Merlin would then shut up, get bored, and the process would continue circling.

"There's a small brook just across that hill," Arthur said suddenly. He was in his element again and knew this portion of land incredibly well. "We should rest for a bit, get something to drink."

Merlin nodded and padded off after Arthur to the aforementioned brook. It was small, just a few trickles of water rushing over some rocks in a dent in the ground. But, it would do for rest and a drink. Arthur squatted next to the water and cupped his hands, taking a few drinks. Merlin followed suit, finally noticing how thirsty he actually was.

Just as Merlin reached down for a second sip, Arthur's eyes widened and he held up a hand.

"Tell me that's not—" Merlin's plea was cut short by Arthur clamping a hand over his mouth. He pulled Merlin along with him to a nearby clump of bushes. By then the sound of approaching hoof beats was unmistakable.


	24. Knights

**23. Knights**

* * *

><p>The line of knights came over the hill, scarlet robes flapping in the cool morning breeze. They'd made it to the border area as quickly as they hoped, but it was the push through Cenred's kingdom without getting themselves killed that was going to cause the real trouble.<p>

Gwaine, Percival, and Elyan were at the front of the group, glancing across the spot where Uther's land became Cenred's.

"We've been riding hard since we left. We should stop, if only for a bit," Elyan addressed Gwaine and Percival on behalf of the other knights.

Gwaine sighed, loathe to lose any time, but he ran a hand through his hair as he pondered. "I suppose we'll be no good at rescuing anyone if we don't rest at least a little."

Gwaine smirked when he heard stifled cheers and muffled praise from the men behind him. Percival cracked a bit of a smile too and raked his eyes around, quickly taking note of their position. "There's a stream not too far up ahead. Bedevere and I stopped there on a patrol with Arthur last month. I know we don't need it for the water," he said, indicating the skin of water slung over his horse, "But there's good cover."

"Well, and you can never have too much water," Gwaine said with a shrug and nudged his horse into step behind Percival, who'd taken the lead.

The knights made their way across the plain to the edge of the stream quite conspicuously. Once they were there, Gwaine hopped off his horse and stared down at the small trickle of water disapprovingly. "You call that a stream?"

Percival dismounted and punched Gwaine in the arm. "So I was a little generous in my description."

Gwaine gave him a decided 'humph' and sat down in the grass, throwing his arms behind his head. He turned to look at the stream when he heard an excess amount of splashing. "Kay! Resting, not swimming!"

Merlin's eyes widened and he shook his head fiercely against Arthur's hand, which was still holding his mouth shut with more force than was probably necessary. Merlin reached up and pulled Arthur's hand away from his face. "Listen," he hissed at the prince, hoping he'd hear the same thing.

Arthur's suspicious glare slowly broke into a wide grin as he pushed some of the bush's branches out of the way so he could get a better look. Stifling a laugh, he silently thanked whatever gods ruled over Camelot nowadays that Gwaine was a rather loud person by nature.

There was an exaggerated rustling sound as Arthur tried to stand up without catching any of his clothes on pieces of the bush while pulling Merlin up along with him. Every single one of the knights turned on their heels and the quicker ones had already reached for their weapons before they fully comprehended the picture in front of them.

Prince Arthur, covered in incredibly dirty clothes, missing some sleeves and looking exceptionally careworn blinked back at them while he waited for them to say something. Merlin, looking extra pale stood next to him, grinning and completely oblivious of the leaves that had caught themselves in his hair.

"Well, I'll be damned," Elyan said with a short laugh. "Maybe they didn't need us at all."

"Oh, we definitely need you," Merlin rushed to explain, gingerly stepping out of the bushes as he talked. "Pretty sure Cenred's still after us."

"He's got no power here, this is Camelot's land," Percival said indignantly.

"Tell that to the border towns," Gwaine quipped gently, before crossing over to Merlin. His smile was genuine and he threw his arms around Merlin's shoulders, giving him a brief hug. He lowered his voice enough so only Merlin could hear him say, "Do I want to know what you were doing in that bush?"

Merlin pushed Gwaine off him lightly, looking scandalized. Gwaine just laughed and pulled a few of the leaves from Merlin's hair.

"You guys got here quick," Arthur said, narrowing his eyes.

"Did a little night riding," Gwaine said as he watched Arthur try and extricate himself from the bush.

"Yeah? Well, thanks for that. All of you," Arthur smiled up at his knights, extremely proud of them, despite the fact that no one had yet made a move to help him untangle himself from the branch that was still clinging to the back of his shirt.

Merlin laughed, but reached a hand up pull the end out from where it was caught. "Hah, and _I'm_ the useless klutz," he mumbled just loud enough for Arthur to hear. Merlin managed to get the branch untangled and he tossed it back into the bush. He went to straighten Arthur's shirt and couldn't resist the urge to trail his fingers across the back of the prince's neck a little longer than necessary.

"As a matter of fact, you _are_ a useless klutz," Arthur replied steadily. It didn't change the fact that Merlin had felt him shudder against his fingers.

A sudden, loud bark ripped their reunion back to reality. Gwaine's eyes met Arthur's and they knew instantly that Cenred was closer than they'd expected.

"Okay, time to go!" Gwaine shouted quickly, pulling Merlin with him onto his horse. Arthur climbed onto the back of Percival's mount without a second thought. They waited for the rest of the company to hop back onto the confused horses before they sped off as swiftly as they could make the tired horses go.

The farther into Camelot's territory they rode, the less likely it was that Cenred would continue to follow. But, Gwaine wasn't going to take the chance of slowing down yet. He kept the whole group of knights moving at a breakneck pace until he could hear both his horse and Percival's wheezing loudly from the added weight.

The group slowed to a canter and eventually they allowed the horses to walk. After their initial burst of speed, they'd not heard another dog-like sound, and being this far in, it would appear Cenred had called his men off.

Merlin had actually started to nod off against Gwaine's shoulder when Gwaine nudged him. "Merlin, look."

He never thought he'd be so happy to see Camelot in his life. They weren't there yet, of course, but the mere fact that he could see it hovering in the distance on the horizon seemed like enough. From somewhere to his right, Merlin heard Arthur's voice, "Thank god."

"I wonder if Uther still hates me. I mean, escape the dungeon, go find the prince, go save the price, that's got to count for something." Gwaine mused, mostly to himself. Percival looked over at him and shook his head.

"Good luck with that," Arthur said wistfully, "Ugh, god, I want to take a nap. An incredibly long nap."


	25. Pyre

A/N: In case anyone's wondering, yes, I did bawl hysterically while writing this chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>24. Pyre<strong>

* * *

><p>"Merlin, what <em>are<em> you doing in there?" Arthur shouted as he banged on Merlin's door with a heavy fist.

Merlin shuffled out of bed and opened the door a crack, glaring at the prince. "I thought you told me I could sleep as much as I wanted when we got back to Camelot."

"You've slept enough," Arthur replied and pushed his way into Merlin's room. "I need you to polish my armor."

Merlin groaned, but started to throw his clothes on anyway. "Can't someone else do it, just for today?"

Arthur shook his head and gave Merlin a smile that was hard to interpret. "I don't trust anybody else to do it right. Not for today. It's important."

Merlin winced. Arthur was right, and he felt like a jerk. "Right. I'll be along in a few minutes."

Arthur nodded and mumbled, "Hurry up," over his shoulder as he left, closing the door behind him.

They'd gotten back to Camelot yesterday evening, and once they'd met with Uther and explained what had happened (minus a few choice details, mostly kisses and Morgana), Merlin had gone to his bed as quickly as possible and hadn't moved since.

Uther had informed them that Gwaine had heroically returned Leon's body, after which Arthur insisted a proper funeral would be held as soon as possible. This afternoon was apparently as soon as possible.

Sighing, Merlin tied his handkerchief around his neck and shuffled out to the next room. Gaius eyed him with a worried expression. "Good morning, Merlin."

"Morning," he replied half-heartedly. "Got to go polish armor."

"Ah," Gaius said with a nod and turned back to the book he's been shelving. He didn't want to press the boy with too many questions yet. He'd had a long few days.

Ten minutes later, Merlin pushed open the door to Arthur's chambers and was greeted by a "There you are!"

"Told you I'd be here," Merlin muttered grumpily as he headed for the pile of armor in the corner of the room.

Arthur didn't snap back at him, but he shot Merlin a sympathetic glance before saying, "I've got to go speak with my father. Try to have those done by the time I get back." His tone was gentler than usual, but Merlin didn't acknowledge the change and just waited for him to walk out the door before he picked up a rag.

Merlin sat quietly, scrubbing little specks of dust from the surface of the metal. It was the first time he'd been awake and in a comfortable place for days. It was a good feeling, but he couldn't shake the knots in his stomach. One of the knots was Morgana, and how he was ever going to keep Uther safe with her around. Another was the impending dread of Leon's funeral, and the likelihood that all the emotions he'd been bottling were liable to come pouring out like he was a four year old girl. Plus, he still had no idea where he really stood with Arthur, and now that they were back in Camelot he'd probably never know. He did his best to not even consider that the prince now knew he was a warlock.

He was idly scraping his thumb along the edge of a gauntlet when Arthur came back in. His jaw dropped just a bit when he saw that Merlin was actually done polishing. "Huh. Well done."

Merlin was going to say 'thanks' but for some reason he couldn't make himself say it. Shrugging, he started picking up pieces of armor and strapping them to Arthur methodically. He managed to get every piece on without incident, and surprisingly, without Arthur interrupting him to tell him what a terrible job he was doing. Then he reached for Arthur's cape, which had been draped across the back of a chair. He circled behind the prince and reached his arms around to latch the pin in the front.

Arthur reached a hand up and grabbed hold of Merlin's arm where it was laying against his collarbone. "Thank you."

Merlin was a little taken aback at this show of compassion, and he was even more surprised when Arthur tugged on his arm and spun around so they were facing eachother, Merlin's arm still draped over Arthur's neck. "I know I promised you that you could rest. And you can. As soon as Leon gets the honor he's due."

Merlin barely noticed the fact that Arthur's hands had travelled to his waist because he was too busy watching his eyes. Merlin felt like he was trying to bore a hole into his head. And he couldn't think of anything to say.

The bell from the tower rang out, signaling that it was two o'clock. Arthur pulled his hands back gently and clenched his jaw. "Come on."

The funeral pyre stood in the center of the courtyard, and an innumerable amount of knights were easily noticeable by their shiny armor and bright red capes among the crowd. There was barely even space to move by the time Arthur strode out onto the balcony of the castle. Merlin had shuffled down the stairs and managed to find Gwaine among the throng of people, though he wasn't too hard to spot considering he was carrying a torch.

"People of Camelot, Knights, friends. I stand before you today with the grave duty of honoring one of my oldest friends for a life well-lived. Sir Leon was a Knight of Camelot if I've ever known one, a man with a kind heart, a strong sword, and a loyalty I have seen in few others. His death, while tragic, was in every way honorable and befitting of a man of his standing. I confess, I don't believe I'd be here to make this speech if he hadn't put himself in front of the arrow that was meant for me. I can't—" Arthur's voice broke a little here, and it was then that Merlin finally began to cry.

Taking a deep breath, Arthur continued, "I can't ever thank him for his sacrifice, other than to send him off like the hero he was. He will be sorely missed in Camelot, and in my own life." At that, Arthur nodded almost imperceptibly to Gwaine, who walked forward and dropped his torch onto the base of the pyre, bowing his head reverently for a second before he stepped back.

Merlin was shaking by the time Gwaine returned to his side, and he placed his arm gingerly around Merlin, who all but collapsed into the knight's chest. Gwaine pulled Merlin tighter against him and they stood like that for a while, watching the fire burn even as most of the people began to leave. Some of the knights stood there longer, with stoic faces and decidedly heavy hearts.

Glancing up to the balcony, Merlin noticed Arthur was gone. Gwaine felt him shift and let Merlin go, eyes still transfixed on the pyre. He headed toward the steps of the castle, whispering a soft, "Bye, Leon," as he passed.

Merlin was halfway back to his own room when he stopped in his tracks. He wanted nothing more than to go curl up in his bed and fall into a fitful sleep. But, despite Arthur's promise to let him rest, he figured it would be best if he made sure there was nothing the prince needed before he hid himself away for a while.

He turned around and walked in the opposite direction, wiping warm tears out of his eyes and squaring his shoulders resolutely before he pushed open the door to Arthur's room.


	26. Idiot

**25. Idiot**

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><p>Arthur was standing with his back to the door, leaning against the window. He didn't turn around. He knew it was Merlin; there was really no need to check.<p>

Merlin shut the door as softly as he could and crossed to the window, unable to keep his gaze from drifting to the dark billows of smoke clouding the air. He noted with curious concern that Gwaine was still outside, staring at the flames. Without looking at Arthur, he asked, "Is there anything you need? If not I was going to go get some sleep…"

"No," Arthur replied and tilted his head a little to look at Merlin, "You can go."

Merlin was more than a little startled to see the glimmer of a tear on Arthur's cheek. Just one. But he had the grace (for once in his life) not to say anything about it.

"Oh, um…alright, then," Merlin agreed awkwardly as he placed a comforting hand on Arthur's arm and turned to leave.

"Wait," Arthur instructed, before he could stop himself. "Are you okay?" He couldn't help but notice how much more red and puffy Merlin's eyes had become since he'd last seen them.

Merlin glanced down at the floor, embarrassed that Arthur had figured out he'd been crying like baby. Though, he imagined it was actually fairly obvious. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Arthur didn't appear convinced. "I'm brilliant….really," he intoned, perhaps a little too cheerily, because Arthur gave him a disapproving glare.

"You're a terrible liar," Arthur informed him, raising an eyebrow. Merlin just shrugged and let his shoulders drop a little, avoiding Arthur's eyes. Arthur reached up and hooked two fingers under Merlin's handkerchief and pulled him closer.

Arthur's fingers felt like they were burning against his neck. The intimacy of the touch was so profound that he felt like he was going to start crying all over again. He let Arthur pull him closer, but he didn't make any moves to help.

"Merlin, look at me," Arthur instructed, though it took Merlin a few seconds to comply. 'We're alright. We're alive, thanks in no small part to you. I hate that we lost Leon like this, but…" He knew what he was trying to say, but he just couldn't seem to get it right.

Merlin cocked his head, slightly unsure of where this was going. Arthur gave up on trying to be comforting; it wasn't one of his natural talents. "We have unfinished business."

Trying not to let his jaw hit the floor, Merlin asked, "Now? You want to have this conversation _now_?"

"Yes….and no," Arthur said slyly as his grip tightened on Merlin's handkerchief. "Yes, now seems as good a time as any. And no, conversation wasn't my original intention. You're a rubbish conversationalist."

"Oh thanks," Merlin snipped. The rest of his retort was lost against Arthur's lips. This time Merlin had known it was coming but he was somehow still caught off guard and found himself melting against Arthur's chest before he could stop himself.

Arthur wrapped his arms around Merlin's back, pulling him close and Merlin slid his hands across Arthur's waist, suddenly aware that chainmail was very uncomfortable. He drew back and shot a reproachful glance at the chainmail. Arthur caught on after a couple of seconds and started tugging it off, barely noticing that Merlin had scampered across the room and was bolting the door shut.

Arthur tossed his chainmail, paying no attention to where it fell and strode across the room while Merlin was still facing the door and messing with the lock. He stopped right behind Merlin, pressing his hands against the door on either side of his head. Merlin stopped moving just as he finished latching the door. "Arthur…We shouldn't be….It's a bad idea for us to…What if…"

Chuckling, Arthur lowered his lips to Merlin's neck and mumbled, "Crown Prince. I can do what I want."

"I know, but—"

"Shut UP, Merlin," Arthur growled as he scraped his teeth along Merlin's collarbone.

This elicited a soft whine from Merlin, who subsequently mumbled, "Oh, damn it," under his breath before throwing his head back against Arthur's shoulder.

Taking this as a good sign, Arthur flipped Merlin around and dropped his hands to his waist, pushing up the edges of Merlin's shirt. Merlin gasped as Arthur's fingers hit his skin and in a sudden flurry of movement, he wasn't wearing his shirt anymore. And then Arthur wasn't wearing his either.

Merlin traced his fingers over the dark scar across Arthur's chest, immensely glad he'd been able to heal it. "Thanks again for that," Arthur said, planting a light kiss on Merlin's lips. Arthur let his hands travel down Merlin's sides and across his hips. When Merlin didn't stop him, he latched his hands under the top of Merlin's pants and dragged him toward the bed.

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><p>Breathing heavily, Merlin rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. "Oh, bollocks," He mumbled as a thought came to him.<p>

"What?" Arthur asked, nudging him a bit.

"I just cleaned these sheets."

Arthur bit his lip, but he couldn't stop himself from bursting into a fit of laughter. He propped himself up on his elbow. Avoiding Merlin's comically annoyed face so he didn't start laughing again, he replied as nonchalantly as possible, "Looks like you have to do it again."

Merlin huffed indignantly but smiled when Arthur finally met his eyes again. There were still a few strands of hair plastered to the prince's forehead and Merlin was pleased to see that he hadn't exactly caught his breath yet either.

"Ugh, stop. You're doing it again," Merlin said.

"Doing what?"

"Remember in the cave when I told you that you were looking at me like you either wanted to kiss me, have me polish your armor, or do a magic trick? You're doing it again."

Arthur gave him a rumbling laugh and slid a hand across his stomach. "Well, you're not good at very many things, Merlin. I have to play to your strengths. Which is why tomorrow I need you to polish the swords in the armory for the tournament my father's having in a few days."

"All of them?" Merlin groaned and rolled over. "And wash the sheets, I suppose."

Arthur glanced at Merlin with prurient interest as he stood and started to gather items of clothing from wherever it was they'd happened to fall. "Mmm. Maybe wait on the sheets. Depending on how shiny you get those swords, I might find it in my heart to reward you."

Having just slid his pants back on, Merlin looked up with a shocked expression. "You're a pig."

"Crown Prince."

"Clot-pole."

"Wow, you really are an idiot, Merlin."

Merlin pulled his shirt over his head and motioned to the door. "So, that sleep I'm supposed to be having, I guess I'll go get it now."

Arthur sat up, considering. "You can stay, if you want…"

"It might be a little suspicious. I think I'll just go."

"Oh, um…right. See you tomorrow then. Armory and such."

"Right," Merlin said, stepping out of the room pointedly. He shut the door behind him and marched off to his own room. When he made it there and opened the door, his bed seemed extremely small and lonely compared to the one he'd just left. There were still a number of knots eating away at his stomach, but he was finally relaxed enough that he figured he could sleep without too many nightmares. He climbed in and curled up with his blanket pulled up under his chin. "Wow, you really _are_ an idiot, Merlin."

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><p><strong>THE END<strong>

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><p>AN: Well, that's it, boys and girls. These last few chapters just came spilling out, but I'd love to hear any final thoughts you have. Your reviews and such have been greatly loved and appreciated. Hope you liked reading it as much as I like writing it. ~R.A.B.~

Also, I'm seriously considering a sequel to this story, but it's only partially formulated. Let me know if you'd actually be interested in reading it, and I might formulate a bit faster.


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